Stitch me Up
by Sarah d'Emeraude
Summary: Due to unfortunate circumstances, Daryl ends up in the middle of a bar fight, and gets stabbed in the process. Really, it had all started as a very, very bad day. But eventually, it turns out to be quite alright when he meets Paul, his assigned nurse, and his (very) big blue eyes. But then... it isn't socially acceptable to ask someone you barely met to marry you, right?
1. First Encounter

**Hello everyone! I'm back again with these two, but this time with a special AU idea that I got after watching a movie (thing is, I can't even remember which one...). Anyway, I really needed to write Paul as a nurse, and it is now done. Also, it's a little different from the way I usually write, and I hope you'll like it.**

 **This work will have multiple chapters, I don't know exactly how many but I'm guessing around 5, although I do not know when each chapter will be published because it all depends on the work I'll have to do for uni and at work (but I will try to be as fast as possible!).**

 **Please let me know what you think of it, even if you hated it, it really helps finding the motivation to write and publish! All mistakes are mine, English isn't my first language and I hope it won't be too horrible to read.**

 **Have a nice day! xx**

* * *

It had started as a bad day, from the very beginning. First of all, when his boss had called him and announced that he should cover his coworker's shift, when all he wanted to do was to catch up on the sleep he had lost in the last few days. Plus, he never liked working in that bar anyway. It payed the bills, of course, but if his stupid brother hadn't stolen shit and ended up in prison, he wouldn't have to work 10 hours a day to be able to survive in his shitty apartment. But again, it payed the bills.

But, as if it wasn't enough, he had to end up in the middle of a bar fight. He got beaten up, and bled all over the floor that he would have to wash later. Nice. And of course his boss had sent him to the hospital, because it turned out that his wound was more severe than he had thought. So there he was, waiting in an hospital bed while clutching at his right side, where the knife wound was bleeding and straining his clothes. Great.

He seriously thought he was gonna bleed out right here, right now, when the curtain allowing him a little bit of privacy was opened and a nurse walked to the bed.

Daryl blinked rapidly a few times, startled.

Alright, maybe he was a little bit old fashioned, but he had been expecting a woman. With a fake smile and cold fingers, that would probe at his wound and tell him kindly but coldly to go home because she had better things to do. But right in front of him stood a young man, much more different that he had imagined. His soft features were outlined by a well trimmed beard, and his long (very long) hair were raised in a neat bun that didn't let any strands of hair fall down his neck or around his face. He looked beautiful, Daryl had to admit that.

His homosexuality wasn't a new revelation, he had known for a while, actually. Of course his family didn't know, his dad had already beaten the shit out of him enough without knowing that his son was a fag. His mom had died in a car accident when he was just a kid, and Merle… Well, Merle knew. He was acting like a dick mostly because of that, Daryl was sure, while at the same time choosing to close his eyes on the matter.

Still, it was embarrassing to feel his dick twitch with attention when he laid eyes on the young -damnit, Dixon, way too young for you- man. He tried to adjust his jeans without the other man noticing, and finally, after what felt like an awkward long time; the nurse looked up at him.

Damnit. Now, the kid had the bluest eyes he'd ever seen in his life. And Daryl might as well be falling in love right here and then, because the young man smiled to him and he started wondering if he could ask him to marry him yet.

"Daryl Dixon? Hey, I'm Paul. But some people call me Jesus."

What?

"So you ended up stabbed in a bar fight, is that right?" asked Paul again, (no way he was calling this man Jesus, okay) looking at Daryl's wound with a serious look.

He looked even cuter when he was frowning. This entire thing had to stop.

"Huh, yeah" he rasped, cursing himself for his unsteady voice. "I was working, actually. And these two guys started throwing punches, and… well."

He shrugged, and Paul smiled again, putting his file on the little table near the bed.

"You had to play the hero, isn't it?"

No, he wasn't going to smile back at the man. No, he definitely wasn't.

"Had to start my career somewhere" he replied with a smirk. "Thought the bar could be a great idea."

This time, Paul laughed. A full, throaty laugh, that made him look even more beautiful.

"Daryl, I might start to like you."

It wasn't socially acceptable to ask someone you barely met to marry you, right?

"Yeah, well, I'd start to like you as well if you, you know… stopped the bleeding, somehow?"

"I might as well do that, yeah" replied Paul with a smile. " Let me get the things I need, okay?"

He was back in no time, and Daryl was happy enough to watch him gather his instruments with extra care. He only had to disinfect the wound and stitch it, and after injecting Daryl with a light anesthetic, he got to work with precision.

"Tell me if it still hurts a bit, okay?" Paul broke the silence, looking up at the older man with a warm smile.

The redneck shrugged.

"Or you can keep playing tough, too" teased the nurse, still smiling.

"Man, you ever stop talking?" asked Daryl, shaking his head.

"You want me to be completely honest? Rarely. Very rarely."

Daryl huffed, shaking his head. They fell back into a comfortable silence, Paul's hands soft and caring against his wounded skin. It wasn't his first injury, and he really wanted to be able to work by the end of the week. He could't afford a few days off, and he silently prayed that the nurse wasn't just cute; but good at his job as well.

"And there you go, Mr Dixon" finally said Paul, and Daryl could swear that he saw a hint of regret in his eyes when he got up, throwing his now red gloves in the trash can by the bed.

"Daryl" groaned the redneck. "Mr Dixon was ma dad."

The nurse looked up at him, eyes even more beautiful than before, a small smirk twisting the side of his mouth.

"Daryl" He repeated, and yes, Daryl liked how the sound rolled on his tongue.

Paul patted his shoulder, and Daryl fought really hard not to lean in the touch and purr like a damn cat. Why was this man so soft? He wanted to cuddle him, take him to dates and kiss him softly on the mouth and at the same time he wanted to ruin him until he was begging to come, with only his name on his lips. He was getting crazy. Maybe he did lost a lot of blood, and was already getting dizzy because of that. Yes, that must be it. Because there was no other rational explanations to his brain's behavior.

"Alright, I gotta go" finally said the young man, his everlasting kind smile grazing his beautiful lips.

"Yeah, huh, thanks, for everything" mumbled Daryl, getting up awkwardly.

Paul shook his head, laughing a little under his breath.

"And please, try not to play the hero for the next few days at least?"

"No promises, Jesus."

He absolutely did NOT look at Paul's ass when the man was walking away. Definitely not.

* * *

Daryl didn't think about Paul for a few days.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Daryl forced himself not to think about Paul during the following days, getting back to work and fighting his tiredness urging him (no, begging him) to take a day off. He was working a late shift this night, and was glad that he had been able to sleep a whole four hours in the morning, without interruption. His nightmares were getting a lot worse lately, but somehow, he didn't want to think about that either. Like so many other things, it was easier to ignore than to actually take care of it.

His shift started as easily as it ever did, with not many clients in the late hours of the evening. The rush usually started after 7, when people were getting out of work and before heading to a nice restaurant. He was used to see students, too, some barely even legal. Guys looking for a chick to hook up with, and somehow, even if rarely, some dates too. Daryl wasn't even that interested in people, really, but he was bored and only had to clean a few glasses, so he liked to study the people around him. Working in a bar allowed that.

Tonight though, even after 10, the bar was quiet. A few peoples ordered drinks but nothing Daryl couldn't handle by his own, and his boss had decided to free his colleague, T-Dog, and grant him a night off. T-Dpg was a good man, mostly quiet (a quality that Daryl liked very much, he wasn't into the "look at my kids and wife" kind of talks), good at his job and it was enough for the redneck, really. It was the reason why Daryl was alone in the bar that night, knowing that his boss was still upstairs in his office, taking care of stuff or watching a show, he didn't really care.

But, somehow, fate had some other plans for the barman that night.

A little past 11pm, the bar's doors opened to let a few people in, that Daryl acknowledged from the corner of his eyes. He smirked when he saw two girls looking at him with a piercing look, the rest of the little group -no more than seven people- finding a place at the other end of the bar, where the big dining tables were all gathered. His boss had insisted that the establishment should diversify, and now they even served home cooked meals for lunch. From the corner of his eyes, Daryl saw that one person was heading his way to supposedly order everyone's drinks, and he took his sweet time finishing cleaning his glass before turning around.

And it was the moment when his breath came out of his lungs all at once.

"Daryl?" asked the man before him, and shit, Daryl was so screwed.

He had been avoiding pretty hard to think about Paul for the entire week, and there he was, standing right before him. And while he was working, no less. And to make the entire situation even worse, Paul looked…. Well he looked amazingly beautiful. Not that he wasn't back in the hospital, far from that thought. But right now, Paul looked like he had just gotten out of work, and seamed more relaxed than the last time he'd seen him. His hair was cascading on his shoulders and framing his face in the most delicious way, making him look a little older than in the hospital. It was a little wavy in the middle, keeping the mark of the hairband he had most certainly used, and looked way longer than Daryl had first thought. His piercing blue eyes were focused on Daryl, and the redneck felt his cheeks heating up instantly.

"Do you remember the name of all your patients?" he blurted out, slapping himself internally when the words passed his lips.

Paul looked a little taken aback at first, before blushing furiously.

"Well, I do remember when I get to stitch up heroes, it doesn't exactly happen everyday, right?"

Daryl felt his lips turn into a smile, no matter how hard he tried to refrain himself. The young man had this tendency to look very, very cute, and Daryl was damned. Paul's cheeks were already slightly pink, and Daryl knew it had nothing to do with the drinks he had yet to serve. It definitely looked like he wasn't the only one confused with the situation, and that was a start.

"Can I get ya anything?" finally asked Daryl, taking a look at the table where Paul had come from.

Paul seamed to be the only man in the assembly. The nurses -he supposed- were all gathered around a round table in a corner, laughing and smiling at a story some redhead chick was describing with a lot of moments. Daryl counted five women in total, before turning his attention back to the man in front of him.

"Yeah, thanks. Do you have vodka shots. For the girls" he added, unsure.

"Hum, yeah, sure. I've got vodka. Not sure it's reserved to girls, though."

Paul looked even more embarrassed than before, cheeks turning a deeper shade of red. Daryl could not help but smile, finding a new hobby in teasing the young nurse for as long as he could. Even if it only meant tonight.

"No, that's not… that's not what I meant". Paul sighed, running a hand in his hair.

Daryl swallowed with some difficulty, eyes following the movement, wishing that his hand could just follow the movement and do the same. It looked way too soft to be even allowed, anyway. It wasn't fair.

"I meant that I'll probably stick to cocktails tonight" added the young man, smiling again. "If that's okay."

Daryl nodded thoughtfully. "Your choice, man."

He turned around to grab the vodka, disposing the shots on a small tray that he pushed towards Paul.

"D'y'a need the whole bottle?" he gestured to the semi emptied bottle in his hand, and Paul smiled.

"God no. Don't give them ideas already, I'm the one driving all of them back."

The older man snorted. Yeah, that sounded fun. He could not help but wonder if Paul enjoyed the women's company that much because he was dating one of them, and he had to shake the thought away before his good mood got away.

"What kind of cocktail would ya like?" he asked again, avoiding the nurse's blue gaze fixed on his face.

"Do you make… sex on the beach? I love that one."

Of course the prick had to chose one that made Daryl's dick stir in his pants. It was just his luck, after all. Daryl was pretty sure that the entire universe was laughing at him, somewhere. Or maybe it was just payback, for all the times he'd made fun of Rick being flustered around Michonne before finding the nerves to marry her.

"Huh, yeah. Sure."

Focus. Breathe, in and out. Slowly, before doing it again, until it helps. That's what his psychiatrist had said, right? Daryl wasn't sure it applied to stupid crushes and a tired mind, though. But it couldn't hurt.

He prepared the cocktail with care, from vodka to orange juice, shaking it before pouring it in a glass and adding a few cubes of ice. Paul was staring at him through the entire process, he could feel the watchful gaze slipping from his face to his capable hands, and wanted to smile playfully. But he refrained himself, and handed Paul the glass.

"Woah. That was…" the young man smiled, looking up at Daryl. "That was amazing to watch. Thank you. I wish I could take another one before leaving, but…" he shrugged. "I gotta be the responsible adult, you know?"

Daryl smiled, mirroring the young man's. "You haven't even tasted it yet."

"Oh, I'm sure it's gonna be amazing."

They looked at each other, silent for a long while. Finally, Paul's friends' chatter and loud laughs pushed them back to the planet earth and Paul turned his head, breaking the contact between their eyes.

"I think some of them would like to be at my place right now" commented Paul, his tone neutral, but a strange mindful expression hunting his face.

The barman thought about the moment when the group had entered the bar, the looks of appreciation one some of the women's faces. Not that it mattered to him, anyway. But Paul seemed to mind, and Daryl couldn't help but feel a little proud. But did that mean anything? He had long learned not to read signs the wrong way, or get his hopes up. Because he tended to do that. A lot.

"Huh, yeah. Saw them watching when you got in."

He didn't know what to say, after that. Paul looked even more thoughtful, and he finally blinked back at Daryl.

"I can get them your numbers, if you want."

His words were kind, but his tone a little cold. Daryl wondered if he had done something wrong, shifting from one foot to the other under the nurse's gaze.

"Huh, I'm not interested" he said, not looking back at the round table.

Paul looked surprised, to say the least.

"Really, it wouldn't be a problem. I'm used to it, you know, so I could just…"

"I'm not into girls" blurted Daryl.

Smooth. Real smooth, Dixon. Daryl didn't know if he should slap himself or throw some confettis, because at least the cat was out of the bag, and there was no pretending now.

"Oh."

Well. That didn't go as well as planned.

"Yeah."

He bowed his head, looking back at the glass he was previously cleaning, picking it up as an automatism and stuffing his rag inside, even though it was as dry as sand under the caress of the sun now.

"Alright." Paul said again, this time with a tiny smile, partially hidden by his beard.

What was that supposed to mean?

"Well, I should go back to my friends. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Daryl" he muttered, voice barely recognizable above the jazz music resonating in the bar. "And in full health, this time."

His eyes locked on the older man after looking at his arms for a couple of seconds, and Daryl did not realize he had been holding his breath until his lungs twitched uncomfortably, reminding his brain that air was necessary for his survival. When did he become such a sap? He nodded, not trusting his voice to stay as composed as his face. Paul smiled again, this time more fully, and turned back to his friends, tray and cocktail in hand.

What the hell.

In the back of his mind, Daryl could already feel that after this night, he was completely and utterly fucked.


	2. Daryl

**Hey there! Here's the second chapter of this story. Once again, all mistakes are mine, and I'm so sorry about that.**

 **I hope you'll enjoy it anyway! xx**

* * *

The day after Paul's visit to the bar was a Sunday, and Daryl did not hesitate for more than a couple of seconds after spending an entire day working on his bike before jumping in his truck and heading to his best friend's place, like he did two times a week at least.

He had met Rick a few years before, in the most unexpected circumstances. Back when Merle was still around, or at least somewhere in the United States wandering around freely and not behind bars, Daryl was only working as a part time mechanic. He didn't need money, or at least not as much as he did now. Merle used to send him money, out of mercy perhaps, and with all the coke he was selling Daryl had no complaints about this arrangement, even if he didn't have the best relationship with his brother. He knew why Merle did it, though. His older brother had been beaten black and blue by their father, before disappearing one day without a single trace. Of course Daryl's old man had taken his edge off by beating the shit out off his youngest, and that for years before Daryl had the courage to get away and never come back.

Ever since, Merle had been feeling a little guilty after all, and spoiled Daryl rotten with the only thing he could give: money. It was weird, at first, to get so much attention after years of silence. But then Daryl had accepted, aware that it was his brother's way of caring and forgiving himself. Thanks to God knew who, Merle had even been cool (or at least enough not to kick his ass) with Daryl's homosexuality when he had found out, coming home unexpected one day to find his little brother in bed with some male stranger.  
This was why, at that time, Daryl wasn't always stuck at work or preoccupied with life troubles and finding himself daydreaming about cute nurses, and ended up meeting the man who quickly became his best friend.

One day when he was wandering around Atlanta without clear purpose -and not trying to get laid, for once; he had ended up saving some stranger's kid. The toddler was around three at that time, and had escaped his father's sight for a single second when a car barged in the small alley they were in, way too quickly to be legal. Daryl did not think, throwing himself on the kid to get him out of the way and they both hit the wall pretty hard, but alive.

Back in the days, Rick was a mess. He was going through a pretty hard divorce with his wife Lori, and she was threatening to keep the kid Daryl had pushed out of the way, Carl, and her still unborn daughter. The day Daryl had met him (in pretty weird circumstances, that goes without saying) Rick had cried like a baby, holding his son against his chest and Daryl could feel the man's exhaustion and relief like it was his own. This was probably why he had taken them both to the hospital for checkup, where he had met Lori.

Daryl had never liked the woman. She was cold, too thin for her own good, even eight month pregnant at that time. When she had laid eyes on him for the first time, the only words passing her lips were "dirty redneck" and some pretty rude comment about never laying hands on his son ever again. Daryl had to bit back the harsh words coming to his mind, focusing his concerned on her next words. He remembered as clear as day when she turned around to face her husband and told him that "he had just lost every chances to share the custody of his son being such an incompetent father" with the most satisfied smile he'd ever seen.

Daryl knew incompetent fathers. Hell, he had an incompetent father. And this man, holding his sleeping son against his chest, dried tears mixing through the hair of his beard, wasn't one. So he had waited for the nurse to come, for the lady coming straight from hell to go away without even waiting for the exams results and he had put a friendly hand on Rick's shaking shoulders. He didn't know why he had trusted the man so much from the moment he had laid eyes on him, but he did. So he had given him Michonne's number.

Michonne was someone he had met at the bar, where she often came and ate by her own. She was a social worker, specialized with kids and rough divorces. She had placed numerous kids in foster care, or taken them out of group homes, and she often told Daryl about them. She loved her job, was dedicated to helping families ever since she had lost her baby boy and husband in a car accident years before. And as soon as he had laid eyes on Rick, and Lori especially, Daryl had known they'd work well together.

It turned out pretty well, at the end. The divorce was officialised, but Lori's infidelities (with Rick's colleague no less) had turned into Rick's favor when the jury had discovered that the baby the woman carried wasn't his, but Shane Walsh's. Rick had won full custody of Carl, Lori had moved out of Georgia with Shane, and Daryl was happy. He didn't know these people very well back then, but he liked them already.

Parking his car next to Rick's in front of the cop's home, Daryl got out of the car and smiled. Years had since passed, Carl was eight now, and Rick and him had become the persons Daryl loved the most in this fucked up world. The boy treated him like he was his uncle, and ever since Rick and Michonne had gotten married two years earlier, he felt like he was finally part of a real family.

Ringing was more a habit than a necessity now, but Daryl did anyway. Less than a few seconds after, the front door opened to reveal Carl, who grinned like a maniac as soon as he laid eyes on Daryl.

"Uncle Daryl!"

He jumped into the older man's arms, and Daryl resisted groaning under the weight. He didn't have the heart to ask Carl to stop, even if he wasn't as light as he used to be when he first did it. Pressing the boy against his torso, he fumbled into the house and closed the door behind him.

"Carl, what did I tell you about opening to strangers?" said Rick from the other end of the living room, looking up to Daryl with a smirk. "Especially this one, he's getting creepy coming here every week and inviting himself to dinner."

Daryl huffed a laugh, pushing Carl further inside the room and raising a brow at the fourth plate already waiting for him on the table.

"Who told you imma stay?" he asked.  
Michonne, sitting next to Rick, smiled.

"When don't you?"  
"Fair enough."

He sat down at the table without grace, smiling back at Carl who pushed his plate and chair closer to Daryl's. The redneck put a hand in the boy's long hair, pushing back the few stands hiding his baby blue eyes. Carl had the exact same eyes as his father's, and had started to look a lot like the sheriff, too. Much to his father's proud glances.

"So, Daryl" said Michonne when Rick started putting a large quantity of food in everyone's plates, "what brings you here today?"  
"You mean besides the irrepressible need to see you because you're my favorite cook in the entire world?" he teased, and the woman tried to hide her grin.  
"Oh dear, Daryl's joking. Must be important then."

Daryl stuck his tongue to his best friend, which made them all laugh.

"Seriously though" said Rick when he sat down, tone more formal this time. "Are you okay? You look tired."  
Daryl shrugged, pushing a large quantity of vegetables on his fork, imitated by Carl just a few seconds later.

"I just… had some hard shifts, lately. I'm fine."

Rick did not look convinced, but he nodded anyway. Both men turned to Michonne, who frowned at Carl when the young man made a face and a distressed noise around his mouthful of vegetables. Daryl smiled to the young boy, picking some of his vegetables to put them in his own plate and replacing it with a piece of chicken. The redneck purposely ignored the look both his friends gave him, focusing on the pure expression of bliss on Carl's face.

"So what brings you here, Daryl?" asked Rick again. "And do not try to fool me with pretty words about seeing us. I know you, brother, and I know something's bothering you. I can read you like an open book."

Daryl took his sweet time chewing his mouthful, swallowing with difficulties above the lump in his throat before talking again.

"I met someone" he said, not looking at his friend's face when doing so. "At work. Well, I mean, when I went to the hospital last week."  
"You went to the hospital?" all but shouted Rick, alarmed.  
"Why?" asked Carl, poking him on the arm, searching for any visible injuries. "Did you get hurt? Are you okay now?"

Daryl smiled, revealing the bandage on his flank to the young man's eyes, who widened in shock.

"There was a fight at the bar" he explained, Carl's fingers probing the bandage carefully. "I tried to stop it, got stabbed."  
"You should be more careful" added Michonne, brows frowned in worry.

Daryl had the decency to look embarrassed. Why the hell was he flushing red every damn time Michonne used her mom voice with him? He was thirty-five, for christ's sake. And he was being ridiculous, too.

"I had to do something."  
"Playing the damn hero, like always." Muttered Rick, a found look on his face contrasting with his hard tone.

He still looked a little concerned over his best friend, but couldn't help beaming with pride as well. Daryl wanted to snort at that, because of course Rick freaking Grimes would be the one to remind him to be careful when he was putting his life in danger all the time as a police officer, too.

"Just like daddy" added Carl, a wide smile stretching his lips.

Daryl snorted, ruffling the boy's hair. Carl looked annoyed, like he usually did when Daryl was doing that, but did not stop him, and Michonne looked back at Daryl with a curious look on her face.

"So, you met someone."

Rick seemed to remember where the subject had started, and turned his attention back to the conversation. Their plates were almost empty now, and they relaxed back in their chairs waiting for Carl to finish his chicken and few last bites of vegetables.

"Yes, at the ER."  
"Let me guess, someone who played the hero as well?"  
"Not really" he said, blushing. "A nurse, the one who stitched me up."

As the words passed his lips, the biker realized how fucked he was. The smile stretching Rick's lips proved him well that he wouldn't hear the end of it, but he couldn't back out now. Maybe he was completely stupid, talking about someone he had met only a few nights before but already thought so strongly about, but he didn't imagine keeping it a secret to his family. He didn't know why he felt that attracted to the younger man already, but he did, and he needed their advice to keep going with this. Because their advices counted just as much as his own feelings towards the entire thing.

"A nurse, huh?" teased Michonne, smiling almost as wide as her husband. "Never thought you'd be this kind of guy."  
"Oh my god" he groaned, pushing his head in his hands to hide his reddening cheeks. Which didn't do much, of course, because they knew him too well to be fooled.  
"What, you knew this was bound to happen somehow" interrupted Rick. "How long has it been since you introduced us to someone?"  
"I don't introduce you to anyone because you're acting like kids over it all the damn time" Daryl muttered, fighting back an amused grin.

It was true, though. Daryl Dixon never introduced anyone to his family, or even talked about anyone for all it mattered. Rick remembered a few guys that had stayed the night, casually popping up in the conversation once or twice when they had gone hunting together. But he had never introduced anyone to them, or even less called it "meeting someone". It was a big news, and the Grimes wouldn't let that go unnoticed. Michonne would probably claim that she had waited for this moment to happen for years, but Daryl knew better not to contradict her.

"Tell us more about that mystery nurse" insisted the woman, more kindly this time.

She had known him for a while, now. And as much as he loved teasing, she knew he tended to get uncomfortable very quickly, and he nodded his appreciation.

"Told ya. I met him in the ER, he's the one who stitched me up. Looked like a damn angel when I was bleeding on the floor, laughed about me being a hero and shit." He paused, fighting back the smile threatening to twist his lips. "Then, guess who came by at the bar yesterday? That same dude, looking even more gorgeous than before."  
"Aww. You're already so smitten, Daryl" teased Rick, pushing his closed fist against his brother's shoulder.  
"You haven't seen him" groaned the hunter, knowing perfectly well that his cheeks were red with embarrassment. "Damn guy looks like he just escaped heaven."

Michonne tried to bit back a laugh, but failed miserably, making them all smile when she snorted out loud.

"Sure, Daryl" she said, patting his arm.  
"I hate you all. Just so you know."

Rick laughed but Carl frowned, looking up at his uncle with a puzzled look on his childish face.

"Uncle Daryl?"  
"Yes baby?"  
"Are you in love with him?"

No, Daryl did not melt on the spot, right then and now. Or maybe he did, a little bit. But he would never admit it either way.

"I barely met the man, Carl" he replied, smiling fondly at the boy. "It takes a little time to fall in love, it doesn't just happen all at once, you know? Do you remember how long it took for your dad and Michonne to get together?"  
"Do not change the subject to us, Daryl Dixon" warned Rick, amused.  
"Well, he's not wrong" admitted Michonne. "If it took months for your dad to admit his feelings, baby, imagine how long this will take Daryl."

The hunter sighed, while both adults laughed.

"I did not realize this night was called 'let's humiliate Daryl Dixon'" he groaned, covering half of his face with his hand again.  
"That's not what we said" replied Rick, "but we do know you."  
"Yeah, whatever."

They were cut by Carl's hand poking Daryl once again, and the older man's attention turned to the kid.

"Yeah, Carl?"  
"Did you make love with him, then?"

Daryl was glad not to be drinking or eating anything at this moment, because he chocked on nothing but air when the words passed Carl's lips.

"Holy fuck, what?" he exclaimed, getting a slap on the arm in response.  
"Language, Daryl" warned Rick, brows frowned.  
"What do you mean, language? Your eight years old son is talking about sex and I'm the one who's gotta watch it?"  
"I know about sex" said Carl proudly, looking at his dad with a wide smile.  
"You're eight, you shouldn't know about things like that" insisted the hunter, still shocked.  
"Well, dad told me."

Daryl groaned, looking at Rick with a tired look.

"Of course he did."  
"It's natural and beautiful" replied the cop, shrugging. "He asked me about it, so I answered."  
"Of course you did."

He didn't know what was the weirdest; the fact that he was talking about a guy he barely met to his brother or the fact that said brother's son was more concerned about his sex life than he was himself. This entire dinner was surreal. He was even almost regretting his decision to come and talk about Paul in the first place.

"To answer to this very disturbing question" said Daryl with a sigh, feeling his best friend's eyes on him while he talked, "no we did not make love. Did not even kiss, yet."  
"Why?" asked Carl, like 99% of the time.

Daryl was pretty sure that the word "why" was the kid's favorite word. He couldn't have a discussion with him without hearing it at least three times in one sentence, his thirst for knowledge never entirely filled. Rick had told him once that it was a thing kids of his age did, and not only something specific to Carl. But it turned out that Carl was the most perfect kid in the world for Daryl, so he didn't care about the others, and did not listen to his best friend when he had spoken these words.

"Because we barely know each other" he replied, shrugging. "He patched me up, then we saw each other when I was at work and he wanted to have a drink with his friends. But nothing happened during that time."  
"Why?"

Michonne snorted; ruffling Carl's hair.

"Come on, give him a break you little monster. You know uncle Daryl's all shy with everyone else but us."

Carl looked thoughtful for a second, before chewing on his lower lip.

"Oh. Okay."

Daryl rolled his eyes.

"It isn't about being shy, it's about knowing the person before doing anything, alright?"

This time, Rick snorted out loud, looking at his best friend with a smirked eyebrow.

"Like that ever stopped you before."  
"Can we not do this in front of a child?" groaned Daryl, red as a tomato.  
"I'm not a child!" argued Carl, this time with anger. "I'm almost nine."  
"You're right, you're not a child" replied Daryl, smiling to him. "Your daddy is."

Rick and Michonne got up to clear the plates after that, leaving Carl and Daryl to take care of the dessert. Daryl helped Carl to stand up on a chair, securing the child in front of him before bending over him to help him cut the chocolate cake Michonne had made during the afternoon, the little boy careful as ever with the blade. His little hands were covered by Daryl's and the hunter was the one moving the blade more than anything, but it always brought a smile to the kid's face when Daryl allowed him to do this his dad didn't want. From the corner of his eyes, Daryl saw Rick smirk when Carl proudly presented the cake perfectly parted in six portions, and it was all that mattered.

It had taken a long time after his divorce for Rick to smile again. At first, he was so afraid that Lori would eventually come back and take his kid away from him that he constantly wore a worried frown in the middle of his forehead. Then, it was because of Carl's problems at school, the poor boy completely loosing his footing in his studies after his mother's departure. But gradually, Daryl had learned what it was to see Rick happy, when he had started falling in love with Michonne and discovered that she loved him back, when Carl had admitted after a few sessions with a psychologist that he was happier now that his mom wasn't around, and when he had started going hunting with Daryl on the weekends. He had discovered a whole new person, a person he now dearly loved and knew would always be part of his life somehow.

"Would you look at that" said Michonne, smirking when she saw Carl attacking his piece of cake with appetite. "It's much easier than the vegetables, isn't it?"

Carl groaned in his plate, putting another huge piece of cake in his mouth before looking up at his stepmother. Daryl couldn't help but huff a laugh, and rolled his eyes when Carl smiled at him, teeth full of chocolate and saliva.

"So when are you going to see him again?" asked Rick after a long comfortable silence. "The nurse?"  
"I don't know" admitted Daryl, shrugging. "I spend so many hours at the bar that I don't even think I'd be able to go on a proper date, even if I knew anything more than his first name and had the meanings to offer him to go out some night."  
"Are you still working like crazy?" groaned the cop, clearly concerned.  
"Yeah. Well, since Merle got caught… You know how it is. The flat is way too big for me, and the rent is freaking high."  
"You know we can help with that" added Michonne, almost as concerned as her husband.

Their hands linked on the table, and Daryl shook his head almost immediately.

"No. I don't want no charity."  
"It's not about charity, Daryl, it's about helping a brother out. We are family, that's what we're here for."  
"Still."

They didn't push further, even though their concern was pretty obvious. The subject went away pretty quickly, Carl finishing his cake before talking about some video games to Daryl for at least fifteen minutes. Daryl wasn't any good at video games, had never been, but since he had known the kid, he had tried to catch up and learn some stuff. Rick was always beaming about his efforts, proud to see him trying so hard to please Carl, but it didn't erase the fact that he was still a newbie to the entire thing. But it didn't matter, because Carl usually did all the talking, and Daryl was ready to suffer an entire conversation of incomprehensible things if it meant the kid was happy.

"Alright, time for you to go to bed young man" interrupted Rick with a snort when Daryl frowned for what felt like the tenth time in a handful of seconds, completely lost in the boy's speech.

He grabbed his son by the middle, raising him above his chair and securing him in his arms when the kid started to fight back a little, laughing when his father's fingers tickled his ribs.

"I want Daryl to put me to bed!" he exclaimed, unaware of his father's obvious expression.  
"Oh I see how it is, as long as Daryl's here nobody exists for you anymore."

Carl laughed again when Daryl beamed with pride, offering a very childish tongue to his father.

"Let's get you to bed little monster" said the hunter, allowing the kid to jump on his back for a piggie ride to his bedroom.

Carl was already changed in his pajamas, so he went straight to the bed and humped inside the covers quickly. He mentioned for Daryl to sit on the bed next to him, and the hunter did, kissing the boy's front-head.

"Come on. Gotta sleep to be strong" he said, turning off the light of the bedside table.  
"That's a lie" Carl huffed, annoyed. "You don't sleep much, and you're the strongest."

Daryl's laugh echoed in the room, and he kissed the boy once again before leaving the room, locking the door behind him. In the living room, Rick and Michonne were waiting for him, slumped on the couch against each other with a glass of wine in their hands.

"There's beer in the fridge" offered Rick with a smile, and the hunter nodded his approval.

Fetching up the bottle, he sat on the opposite end of the couch, sighing loudly when the first gulp of beer passed his lips.

"How am I gonna see this guy again?" he finally asked after a pregnant pause, defeated. "I don't even know his last name."  
"Maybe he'll come back to the bar some day ?" said Michonne, hopeful.

Daryl groaned, looking down at his beer.

"No, shifts change. Mine, but his too. With my luck, I won't be able to see him ever again."  
"Oh come on" groaned Rick, sending a pillow to the older man. "Don't be like that."  
"Yeah, you know it's not like I didn't have a cop friend who wasn't able to help me out, too…" Daryl said, smiling at the end of his sentence.

Rick raised a brow.

"I'm not searching for your booty call at the station, Daryl Dixon."  
"But this is love, Rick!" moaned Daryl, unable to hide the smile threatening to show on his face. "Come on?"  
"Huhu. No way. I'm not letting you use me like that."

Daryl groaned, and Michonne smiled back at him.

"Maybe you should try with Glenn" she suggested, looking far too amused by the situation not to smirk as well.  
"Do you think he'll know?"  
"Maybe he's delivered pizzas to his place before?" added Rick, mischievous.

The hunter considered it for a couple of seconds before grabbing his phone, unlocking it quickly and dialing Glenn number with his thumb.

"Oh my god, he's doing it" whispered Rick, loud enough for Daryl to hear him.  
"Shut up" groaned the older man, face probably entirely red.  
"This is the best day ever" added Michonne in a whisper, high fiving her husband.

Fortunately for the hunter, Glenn was always keeping his phone close. He answered pretty quickly, and Daryl couldn't help but snort when his friend's voice resonated in the phone, breathless and confused.

"Daryl? Are you… Okay?"  
"Hey Glenn" he smiled even wider when he heard Maggie's high peached voice behind his friend, although he couldn't grasp what she said. "Am I interrupting something?"  
"Other than Maggie crushing me in video games? Nah, nothing."

Rick laughed as well, probably able to hear Glenn through the phone even if he was on the other end of the couch. The hunter knew that he should probably change his phone someday, if he could find the time to do it.

"Rick and Michonne say hi" he said, rolling his eyes at his friends when they beamed with excitement at the mention.  
"Oh, hi Rick, hi Michonne!" replied the Korean, voice higher with the surprise.  
"So yeah" interrupted the hunter, knowing that his friend's cheerful nature would push him to ask too many questions and he did have something to ask him. "I need ya to do something for me."  
"Okay… I'm listening."

Taking a deep breath, ignoring Rick's smirk and Michonne's laugh, Daryl started explaining again. He explained his -quite horrible, if anyone asked him- situation to his friend, although realizing along the way how dumb his plan sounded. He realized when Rick laughed out loud a few seconds later that he was probably feeding his friend good content for them to make fun of him for the next decade, too. But it was too late, and if Daryl did end up dating the real life angel that was Paul the nurse, he would make sure to tell him what he had endured looking for him like in the cheesy movies Merle used to watch.

"So, you want me to use my client's informations to search for a certain Paul because you wanna fuck this guy?" resumed Glenn, his voice low as if he was trying to comprehend the whole thing.  
"That's pretty much what he wants, yeah" shouted Rick, pushing his face against Daryl's to be heard by their friend over the phone.  
"Get off me you dick" groaned the hunter, pushing the laughing cop away. "You're all terrible friends anyway."  
"I didn't say no yet" replied Glenn, although he was now laughing alongside Maggie. "But I gotta say it though, Daryl, you're just adorable."

The hunter wanted to crawl in a hole and die of embarrassment. He knew his friends were the most precious and perfect persons in this damn world (right behind Carl, of course), but sometimes he just couldn't deal with their shit. And even if he laughed right with them at the moment, he couldn't help the sadness that gripped his heart when Glenn kept going.

"But as much as I'd like to help you" said his friend, this time softly "I can't do that. I don't have access to these files, and I'm pretty sure my boss won't allow this because you need to get laid, you know."  
"It's not about getting laid, you fuckers" growled Daryl.

Michonne put her hand on his friend's shoulder, offering him a warm smile. Daryl smiled right back, trying to ease the sadness flowing in waves inside of his heart.

"Well, thanks anyway brother" grumbled the hunter at his phone, hanging up when Glenn wished them all a good night.

He let his shoulders drop in defeat, toying with his flip phone between his big fingers, and sighing loudly.

"I'm sure you'll see him again" whispered Rick, sensing his best friend's sadness. "Maybe, like Michonne said, he'll come back by the bar?"  
"But what if it's T-Dog and not me?" asked Daryl, voice weaker than he would have liked.

He shook his head, sighing again.

"It shouldn't matter, you know. I don't even know him. Maybe he's a dick, and I wouldn't even like him that much."

Michonne nodded, but her eyes betrayed her sadness for his friend. Her hand pressed Daryl's shoulder again, and she bent over to kiss his cheek tenderly.

"I should get going" finally said the hunter after nursing his beer for a few more minutes. "Let you enjoy your Sunday evening. Even if it's gotten late already."  
Rick smiled, playfully nudging Daryl with his close fist.

"You know you're always welcomed here, brother."

Daryl smiled.

"I know. Thank you guys. You're the best, I know you know that, but I still feel like I should say it anyway. Maybe because you're feeding me two times a week."  
"Oh well, it's always nice to hear you know? I'm such a good cook." replied Michonne with a satisfied smirk.

He ended up staying almost half an hour more before hugging his friends goodbye, promising them not to forget Carl's birthday party at the Greene farm the week after. When walking to his car, he looked up at the stars, wondering if he'd see Paul again after that.


	3. Paul

Paul sighed, pressing two fingers against his temple with a quiet groan of relief.

"You okay there, Jesus?" asked someone behind him, and he turned around to face the voice.

Carol Pelletier was Paul's boss, but she also happened to be the most gentle head nurse in the entire hospital. From the moment he had started working with her, Paul had liked her, and this love only grew with time and trust. He had started working at the hospital about a year ago now, with his best friend who had become his roommate when they had left the nurse school and graduated together. From his first day, Carol had been there for him when he had problems of any kind, and he could not be thankful enough for her.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he smiled, trying not to groan when the motion made his headache even worst.  
"You don't look fine" said Carol, walking up to him with a concerned frown.

He had never known how to lie to her, and he didn't need to. She was his boss, organizing his schedules and making sure that everything went fine in the hospital, but she was also a very caring person. He had often seen her rearrange people's schedules to fit them better, always being a doll to everyone including his most tiring colleagues. Quite honestly, he didn't know how she dealt with so many people and so many things while being at the same time in such a good mood all the damn time.

"It's just a headache, really, I'm fine" he insisted, sitting on a chair next to the emergency room, in the little room they used to get some sleep between the patients. "I should have slept more last night, that's all."  
"I think you're working a little too much, too" Carol said, putting a hand on Paul's forehead.

He could not help but notice her motherly attitude. He knew that she had a little kid, Sofia, and that she had been living alone with her for years now, after divorcing her violent husband. Paul could not begin to understand how anyone would even want to raise a hand on their kid, but he had never breached the subject with Carol. Firstly because it wasn't none of his business, and also because he did not want to be rude. He appreciated Carol, but she was still his superior. And asking this kind of questions wasn't , he could not help but love when she was fussing over him. It did not happen often, mostly because he was doing his job the best he could and Carol had nothing to say about the matter, but he loved it anyway. Sometimes, he was working a few extra hours just to get her to fuss over him and how he needed to sleep, and he did felt bad about the couple of times he had done that. But he had been an orphan since he was five years old, and ever since, he had missed having someone worrying about him. Of course, his best friend's parents were the sweetest and they had played a big role in his studies, but it wasn't the same. Carol was a constant reminder that someone was watching over him, and he really needed it from time to time.

"I should rearrange your schedule" said Carol firmly, grabbing a bottle of water and shoving a few pills inside of Paul's hand. "Take that, the sooner you swallow this the better you'll be before going back to work."  
He did not protest, swallowing the medication and closing his eyes once it was done. Now that he had taken the pills, he could not wait for it to ease his throbbing headache. The light in the emergency room only made things worst, and of course he had dealt with crying children and fussy parents through the entire night. It was only five in the morning, and his shift wouldn't be over before 7.

"It's fine, Carol, really" he insisted, smiling at her. "You already rearranged it for next Sunday, and I can't thank you enough for that."

She smiled at him.

"You're always trying to help everyone. You need to take care of yourself, too."

Paul shrugged, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"You know, I just like the fact that you remind me every day" he teased, and Carol shook her head.  
"You better start remembering by yourself before I kick your ass, Paul Rovia!"

This time, Paul laughed, groaning when it made his head spin with throbbing pain.

"So, you have this mysterious but very important thing on Sunday?" she asked, this time using a neutral tone and sitting next to him.  
"It's no secret, you know?" he replied, amused. "I'm going to the farm with Beth, it's been a while since I've been there."  
'You're gonna see their parents?"  
He nodded, finding impossible to hide his smile.

"Yeah. I miss them, you know? It's gonna be fun. I'm so glad you freed me the entire day, though. I'll never thank you enough, and I mean it."

She chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"You don't have to thank me, you know? Keep doing your job the way you do, and being so damn adorable to everyone and I'll never refuse you anything."  
"Is that a promise?" Paul teased, amused.  
"Oh Rovia, don't you start."

It was with a common laugh that they both turned around, surprised by the door opening behind them. It was a fairly quiet night, and not many nurses were occupied or event present within the hospital.

"I see that someone is in a very good mood" said Sasha, closing the door behind her.

Sasha was one of Paul's colleague, and he liked her very much. She had always been someone straight forward, which was quite weird when they had met but he was now used to her rough side. She was also one of the kindest persons he'd met in his life, and although he was pretty weirded out by his boyfriend, a huge army guy who looked like he was ready to kill anyone talking to him, she had become one of his closest friends.

"Have you seen the hot biker guy again?" she asked before sitting at the table with Carol and Paul, smiling mischievously when she opened a can of coke that she had most certainly bought right before taking her break.

Paul felt Carol's gaze focusing on him and he blushed furiously.

"Wait, what? Hot biker guy? Did you hide something important from me?" this time Carol's tone was playful, and when she nudged Paul with her shoulder, the young man wanted to disappear.  
"It's nothing" he blurted out weakly, his eyes falling on his lap.  
"Oh no, it's not nothing" insisted Sasha, and Paul seriously wanted to hit her with something, a pillow, or anything. "He's been talking non-stop about this guy for the last three days!"

Carol moved her chair around to be able to face him, and Paul resisted the urge to pull off his hairband and hide behind a curtain of hair, like he did most of the time in his life. He had always been a very shy man, and even though he was fighting it every day with his job, he still couldn't help it sometimes. Carol's eyes were burning the entire right side of his face, and he chewed on his lower lip, preparing for the endless list of questions.

"I'm sorry, how the hell did I miss this?" Carol looked even more excited than Sasha, and it wasn't even funny at this point. "You met someone?"

It wasn't a breaking news that Paul was gay, as it had always been common knowledge around the hospital. He had even hooked up with a surgeon at some point, their love affair -if he could call it love, it was all about sex after all- during for a few months before Paul had broken things off. The guy, Alex, was way too preoccupied with himself to care about someone else, and Paul was way too clingy to live with someone like this.

"I didn't meet someone per say" finally replied Paul in a sight, looking up at Sasha with a death glare. "I stitched up someone, and the guy was…" he stopped, unsure, looking at Carol. When she nodded, obviously ready to hear the entire story, he sighed.

"Well I'm pretty sure he was the hottest guy I've ever seen. And I made the mistake of telling Sasha" he glared at her again, just to make her understand that he was mad at her, "and now she won't let go."  
"Well I wouldn't either" admitted Carol, a funny look on her face. "So, what happened? I want to know everything, now."

Paul groaned.

"Nothing happened! The guy needed stitches, and even all covered in blood and grumpy as hell he looked like he came straight from one of my dreams."  
"Well I'm not sure anything is entirely straight when it comes to you" replied Sasha, looking proud of herself.  
"Oh my god. Sasha. You don't get to make jokes like that."

Paul was mortified, but Carol laughed out loud, clasping him on the shoulder.

"I thought it was funny" she admitted, looking sheepish.

Paul rolled his eyes.

"Of course you did."  
"To be fair, it was funny" insisted Sasha, taking a large gulp of coke before going on "it's not every day that I see you daydreaming about someone you've met. You're a pretty private guy, you know? Nothing to gossip about."

Paul could feel his face heat up again, and he shook his head.

"Well yeah, I don't really like exposing my life or anything" he blurted out, before taking a deep breath. "It's not… It's not against you, you know? It's just… there is so many girls nurses in the ER, that I kinda feel like I'm a part of a big joke, especially considering the fact that I'm gay and all. It's just weird, you know, all these girls asking about my sexual life while I barely know them."

He stopped, unsure. He didn't want to sound whiny, because he hated whiny people, but he couldn't phrase it another way.

"Paul" finally said Sasha, eyes sad but full of determination. "I never wanted you to feel like you're the main part of a big joke. I promise. And I'm sorry if it's how it felt."  
"It's not you" breathed the young man, smiling at her. "It's just… With everything that happened with Alex, when I first came here… Many of the girls weren't so kind. I just felt like I should keep things to myself a little more, you know? I've never really talked about private things, like that."

It was Carol who nodded this time, and she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, a warm smile grazing her lips.

"You don't have to tell us anything, you know? It's all up to you. We are teasing you because we actually care about you and we're happy to see you blending in, but there will never be any joke including you or your sexuality, you know that?"

Paul nodded, like a child that would deal with a concerned mother.

"I know you wouldn't" he finally replied, trying to smile back at them. "I know you're both adorable. It's just… hard, sometimes. To talk about things. I'm just not used to it."  
"We're not just colleagues though" added Sasha. "We're your friends. And I mean it. Even Abraham likes you."

Paul snorted out loud at that.

"Oh my god, I thought he was going to kill me the last time I saw him" he confessed quietly, and Sasha laughed like a maniac in response.

He actually wanted to pout at her, but barely refrained himself . He was twenty-five now, and he couldn't just pout when he was feeling uncomfortable in a situation.

"That's how you know that he likes people" she said, a found look on her face and her eyes filled of love when mentioning her husband.

Paul felt his stomach tighten, and forced a smile to graze his lips. He always felt uneasy when one of his colleague or friend talked about their relationship, mostly because he was longing to once live something like that, too. Maybe he had always been a hopeless romantic, or maybe it was just the way he had become through the years, because he longed to have that special someone.

"That's pretty rich coming from you, too" Sasha crossed her arms on her chest, looking smug. "Have you seen your biker? He wasn't exactly the welcoming type."  
"That's not true" interrupted Paul. "He had been stabbed, of course he was grumpy."  
"I never said anything about him being grumpy"

He was cornered, and Carol's light laugh was all it took for him to blush again.

"I hate you" he groaned without anger. "Both of you."  
"Oh no you don't" replied Carol.  
"No I don't, but just because you're lucky."

The rest of the night passed pretty quickly, and Paul's shift was over before he even realized it, luckily. He drove back home in a daze, sleep buzzing through his body after a twelve hours shift and a throbbing headache to worsen it. When he got home, Beth was already awake and preparing for her own shift. She smiled at him from where she stood in the kitchen, and mentioned for him to sit at the table.

"Beth, I really wanna go to bed" he whined, sitting down nonetheless. "This shift was really freaking long, and I need a good night's sleep."  
"But I haven't seen you in like, forever" she replied, sitting down next to him and pouring some orange juice in the glass she had left at Paul's place.

Her big blue eyes were pleading, turned to Paul and accompanied by a childish pout. Of course he couldn't resist her, and he sighed, giving up.

"Alright, alright. I'll have breakfast with you."

The smile he got in reward made him chuckle, and he bent over to kiss her forehead.

"Aside from the sleepless night, did everything went well?" Beth asked, serving them both some bacon and eggs, the sight making Paul's mouth water.

He shrugged.

"Yeah, it was mostly children and parents tonight. Went well though, and Carol and Sasha were assholes, but that's not new."

Beth rolled her eyes, staring at him with a frown.

"Don't say things like that."  
He sighed. "I'm kidding, Bethy."  
"Still."

He swallowed a mouthful of bacon before Beth talked again, this time more cheerfully.

"So what did you guys talk about?"  
"Daryl, mostly."

It was no secret to Beth, of course, that Paul had treated a patient and found himself stuck with the biggest crush on him. She had been the first one he'd confessed it too, and he remembered her squealing happily about it for the rest of the evening. Although he had found it pretty funny, Paul was bummed with the fact that he would probably never see the guy again. It had came as a surprise when he had found out, days later, that the guy was working on a bar next to the hospital he worked in, and had outrageously flirted with him.

He had tried going back to the bar after that, less than forty eight hours after seeing Daryl for the second time. Of course he had not told anyone, even Beth -too afraid to be disappointed if the hot biker guy wasn't interested in him even after coming out like he did at the bar; and he had been right. When he had entered the place, he had faced an unknown barman grumbling about Daryl being absent these days. Even if it surely (or at least, he hoped) had nothing to do with Paul, the young man had felt a twitch of anxiety creeping its way inside his body, and left the bar as quickly as he had entered, without a single glance back.

If Beth had noticed that he was feeling a little upset the days after, she said nothing, and he was grateful to her. Paul had never been the kind of guy to really flirt, or meet people in general. He was way too shy to do things like that, and unfortunately people never seamed to take the hint. So he stayed hidden behind his curtain of hair. At work, it was different. He dared to be a little more expressive, and even tried to smile to everyone and hide his shyness to the world. It was easier, because people were not really paying attention to him but to their injuries, and it worked well for the young man.

"You talked about him to Carol?" beamed Beth, smiling like she had just learned the greatest news ever.  
"Yep. Figured it would come out, eventually."

Beth nodded, but he knew she wasn't fooled. Somehow, he needed to talk about this encounter to people he trusted. He had been talking about the mystery dude for days to his roommate, and he needed a fresh advice. Not that the girls had been very helpful, mostly cooing about him being adorable and asking for a very specific description of Daryl, but still.

"Well you know, I'm glad you did" said Beth with a wink. "Now they'll look out for him, even when you're not there."  
Paul smiled. "I told you he doesn't look like the kind of guy who ends up in the ER anyway. I'll probably never see him again. I just have to get used to the idea. Crushes are not that important, anyway."

He tried not to let disappointment fill his voice, but failed miserably as Beth looked right at him with a knowing gaze.

"Don't say that, Paul."  
"Yeah, whatever."

Beth did not insist, even if Paul knew that she was tempted too. The girl was too damn joyful about everything, and she was somehow convinced that faith would eventually lead Paul back to Daryl, or Daryl back to Paul. He had not the heart to discourage her, but it was getting harder each passing day to deal with his crush on the barman. So he stayed silent, not looking up at his friend and staying focused on his plate and the last pieces of food in it.

They finished eating in silence, and Beth finally got up to get to work. He kissed her on the cheek when she walked out the door, and locked the flat behind her. His eyelids growing heavier each passing minute, he barely had the force to shower before falling face down on his bed, letting sleep claim him in a handful of seconds.


	4. Daryl (2)

**Here's a little fluff and Gleggie before the final (big) chapter, in which Paul and Daryl will finally see each other again!**

 **Thank you for your comments and kudos, I'm so glad you like this story. Once again, I'm sorry for the mistakes in my text. I hope you'll like it anyway!**

 **xx**

* * *

Daryl hated shopping.

Well, truth be told, he hated shopping as much as the next person, but he hated people even more. He hated the fact that people went shopping with their damn kids, he hated the fact that the store were always flooded with all types of people and he hated that he had to be damn sociable during the whole thing (and that it was not acceptable for him to just hit someone in the face when they were being rude, too). Not that he hated cashiers or retails workers, the poor people deserved way much more than they were earning a month for putting up with everyone all the time. But he didn't like the fact that he had to talk to them, and be sociable because he didn't want to sound like a dick when they already had so much to deal with through their day.

Still, he hated shopping. More than he hated one night stands who thought they were special snowflakes and allowed themselves to stay for breakfast and talk about their lives. Who did that, anyway? No one. That's the freaking answer. No one was -admittedly- dumb enough to think that they were wanted for breakfast after a questionably good fuck the night before.

"You look lost, man."

Daryl spun around, finding himself face to face with Glenn, who was looking at him with a proud little smirk. Daryl wanted to argue, or even hit him in the face, but he refrained himself. Mostly because he indeed needed his friend's advice.

"Fuck, ya gotta help me with this" he mentioned to the basket in his hands. "I don't understand what Maggie wants for the party."  
"Hell, I don't get what Maggie wants 99% of the time dude" replied his friend with a shrug, still looking at the bottles in front of him with a frown.  
"You're dating her."  
"Well, you know what they say… Befriend your enemy, or some shit like that?"

He looked at the inside of his basket though, and Daryl felt grateful at the appreciative look his friend gave him. He even decided not to tease him further about his relationship with the Greene girl, Glenn's help being way too precious for him to screw this conversation over.

"Yeah, we're gonna need more booze" finally admitted his friend, turning his heals to walk to the designed aisle.  
"I thought Hershel didn't want booze in his house?"  
"He doesn't want to have anything to do with booze, that's the thing" replied the Korean "because of his old alcohol problem, you know? But he doesn't mind us drinking some. It's a party, after all. He told Maggie it was okay, as long as we don't tell him where it's hidden. I don't think he'd drink it anyway, but he doesn't trust himself that much."

Daryl nodded, more to himself than anything else considering the fact that his friend was more preoccupied with the label of the bottle in his hand than his sign of acknowledgment. "Well, I respect that."

"Did you get anything else than drinks?" asked Glenn again after selecting a few bottles.  
"Nah, man. Annette told me not to worry about food and the lady's scaring the shit outta me, I'm not gonna do anything to angry her."

Glenn snorted out loud at that.

"Yeah that's probably wiser. I swear this lady is a real demon when she wants to be."  
"Looks a lot like Maggie when she's angry" added Daryl with a smirk.  
"I'm telling you, Daryl Dixon" replied his friend with a frown "you haven't seen Maggie Greene when she's angry. You wouldn't laugh about that."

They finished picking the bottles or juices quite quickly after that, the aisles of the store pretty much empty for a Wednesday afternoon, and walked back to the car after paying for the whole basket, Glenn fighting his friend when he tried to hand his credit card. It was Carl's birthday party, and Rick wouldn't let him spoil the damn kid with more than one gift, so he wouldn't let Glenn pay for the drinks.

"Thanks for helping me out" said Daryl when Glenn sat next to him in the truck, the bag of bottles between his feet. "I hate stores, and shopping. And people, too."  
"Ah, no problem man. I only start around eight anyway."

He attached his seat belt, mentioning for Daryl to take the long road leading to the Greene farm once the way was clear of all cars. Hershel and Annette Greene had been living in the countryside, near Atlanta, for years now. The farm was a family building, but it felt like it had always belonged to Hershel and his family. Daryl had met them when he had met Rick, the cop being a friend of Hershel for years, it made only sense when Rick had introduced Daryl to the Greene family. Like everyone else, they had adopted him pretty quickly, not once questioning Rick's decision or judgment.

Daryl had been pretty surprised, at first. He wasn't exactly the type of people that made friends, really. Plus, Hershel looked like the kind of guy who would have shot him in the ass with a rifle if he hadn't come with the sheriff of the town. Back in the days when he was living with Merle in their shitty trailer, before even getting the apartment, Daryl didn't have friends. He had sex buddies, he had a few people that he occasionally saw when he was getting out of the trailer to go to work, but he didn't do relationships of any kind. So it did come as a shock when Hershel had welcomed him as an old friend, and he had tried as hard as he could not to disappoint the old man ever since. Even when he had finally blurted out that he liked men one day, knowing how close to religion Hershel tended to be, he had found himself wondering what it would feel like to loose this newfound family.

"How much people are expected?" asked Daryl after a few miles of silence, only filled with the occasional buzzing coming from Glenn's phone. The damn kid couldn't stop texting his girlfriend when he was away from her for more than an hour.  
"Not that much. Rick asked for something small, even though I know from experience that Hershel is still gonna throw a damn party for Carl, anyway. That kid is spoiled rotten."  
Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I figured."

Hershel and Annette loved Rick as if he was their son, having only two girls and no grandchildren, and Carl was the only kid that they had the chance to see grow around the farm. The young boy often stayed with them during the holidays, their two children living away from home now and letting the house impossibly quiet without them. Maggie had moved in with Glenn in the center of Atlanta a couple of years ago now, right after Rick and Michonne's wedding, and Beth had started studying to become a nurse three years before. She was now living with a roommate near Atlanta as well, and Hershel and Annette were left alone in the big farm.

It was a pretty close family, and Daryl was always touched to see how much effort Beth and Maggie put into coming to see their parents as often as possible. But life sometimes overtook their efforts, and it was why Rick had thought about leaving Carl to his friends for the vacations from time to time. Sometimes, even, Daryl and Rick did come with Carl, sharing Maggie's old room for a few days during their stay. These memories would always be held dearly by the hunter, no matter what was bound to happen in his life afterwards.

"And there we go" said Glenn with a smile when the house came to a view.

Daryl's smile echoed the younger man's, and soon enough he was parking his car next to the porch and getting out of it to greet Hershel and Annette.

"Daryl, Glenn! It's so good to see you."  
The redneck let himself be hugged by the small woman, smiling against her shoulder when she frowned and patted his hair, way longer than what she liked initially.

"I know, I could use a haircut" he groaned, completely unaware of Glenn's wary eyes.  
"It's good to see you son" said Hershel, and Daryl shook his hand.

They all moved into the house, taking care of the bags of soft drinks and alcohol to dispose them in the living room. Annette led Glenn to the kitchen right away for some cooking, while Hershel stayed behind with Daryl.

"So, I've heard that you met someone?" asked Hershel, tone even but smile betraying his amusement.

Daryl groaned, looking back at the kitchen where Glenn had disappeared and cursing the other man under his breath.

"I feel like everyone knows much more than I do about this situation" admitted the hunter, blushing under Hershel's strong gaze.  
"It's often the case when it comes to Maggie" the older man sounded amused, much to Daryl's creeping shame.  
"Yeah, well. No offense to you, but I'm gonna kick her ass when I see her on Sunday."

Hershel only looked even more amused, pushing a screwdriver inside Daryl's hand when the man stopped groaning for a few seconds. He then mentioned to the old radio on the table, and Daryl rolled his eyes but complied, sitting in a chair at the table to begin working on it.

"So, are you going to bring this new boyfriend of yours on Sunday?" Hershel asked, sitting next to Daryl to watch him work.

The redneck had always been good with his hands, and had started this habit of helping Hershel out with a few things around the farm every time he came by. Daryl snorted.

"I don't know what Maggie told all of you, but he ain't my damn boyfriend. We barely met, I only know his first name, that's all."  
"Oh, so you're just smitten then" said Hershel with a nod.  
"Yeah, one could say that."  
"You might wanna explain that to Maggie" Hershel relaxed on his own chair, smirking. "Because she already told Beth that you had a boyfriend, and I don't remember my little girl being so surprised about anything in her life."

Daryl froze, his hand stopping over the radio, before looking up at Hershel.

"I'm gonna kill Maggie."  
"I'd liked it if you didn't, son, because I like you so far and I don't want to have to use that shotgun of mine on your body if you touch one hair on my girl's head."

Daryl huffed a laugh, shaking his head at the thought.

"Yeah, you know what Hershel? You can be damn terrifying, too."  
"As I've been told, Daryl. As I've been told…"

Daryl did finish working on that radio, and by the time Glenn came out of the kitchen with his hands full of food smelling deliciously good, Hershel had invited them both to stay for dinner. It wasn't even seven yet, but Glenn had to eat before going to work at the pizzeria and they decided to treat themselves, the Greene's smiles contagious when they accepted.

Through dinner, Daryl learned that Beth was going to be there on Sunday as well, coming home with a friend of hers to see Carl, Rick and Daryl especially. The hunter smiled like a maniac as soon as he heard the news, eager to see the little farm girl again.

He had met her when introduced to her parents, and it was one of the person that Daryl had liked from the start. She was soft, and small, and looked like anyone could beat her ass but what Daryl liked the most about her was the fact that she was one of the strongest person he'd ever met in his life. He knew she had a dark past, nobody talked about it but he had seen Beth's wrists, and she had told him about it one night when they had both drank way too much for their safety. This night, they had talked about things that Daryl had never told anyone before, even Rick, and he had learned about Beth's demons. Ever since, she had become one of his closest friend.

He loved Maggie dearly, too, but he didn't see her as a little sister like Beth. Maybe because Maggie was dating Glenn, and he'd always considered her as a close friend rather than family he had to protect, he didn't know. It didn't really matter, truth be told. Daryl had found himself a family in the Greene House, and he was glad to be a part of something great for once in his life. With the Grimes household and the Greenes, he had finally found his place in this world.

Once on the way back to the city, Daryl could not help but notice Glenn's enormous smile, and waited for a few minutes before questioning him, too curious to care about being clingy.

"What's up with the smile?"

Glenn, who seemed lost in his thoughts, turned his head from the window to look at him.

"What?"  
"The smile" insisted Daryl. "You're grinning like an idiot while looking out of the window, like you're in some kind of movie. What's up?"

The question made Glenn smile even wider, and Daryl had to bite back a joke. His friend really looked happy, happier than he'd ever seen him, and he didn't want to ruin his mood by being a jerk. Even if he was a friendly jerk.

"It's just…" He shook his head, looking at the road in front of them and sighing. "I'm happy, man."  
"Yeah, I kinda got that" snorted Daryl.

Glenn hit him on the shoulder, without loosing his smile though.

"It's Hershel" he finally whispered, like he was spilling some kind of secret. "We talked, together. About Maggie."

Daryl stayed silent, letting him go on. He kinda knew where the conversation would go, but he needed confirmation before saying anything else.

"I think I'm gonna ask her to marry me" Glenn blurted out, and he looked both frightened and proud.

Daryl blinked once, then twice. Silence stretched between them, before Daryl found the nerves to talk again.

"Wow" he finally said, trying to focus on the road, which happened to be very hard with Glenn being over excited next to him. "That's a big step."  
"Really?" asked Glenn, now sounding a little disappointed. "That's all you gotta say? I'm gonna ask Maggie to marry me, man. We're gonna get married!"

Daryl wanted to hit himself in the face. He never meant to be rude, but sometimes it felt like he couldn't help it no matter how hard he tried.

He was very happy for Glenn, and Maggie. He had known them for years, and had met him only a year after Rick. He was the one who had introduced Glenn to Maggie, for Christ's sake. Glenn had been alone at home one night while he was supposed to go to Hershel's farm with Rick, and ended up bringing the young man with him. Little did he know that Glenn ended up falling in love with Hershel's older daughter as soon as he saw her in the living room.

He didn't really know how things went at first. Maggie had the tendency to look cold, and act the same as well. He knew that Glenn was a shy, and very awkward man when he wanted to be. No doubts that Maggie had whiteness it when she had first saw him, because as far as Daryl remembered, the Korean had made a fool of himself several times during the evening at the Greene farm. But it had turned out pretty well, even if they had kept the entire thing for themselves at first. A couple of months later, Glenn had finally blurted it out during a dinner at Rick's place, and they all beamed with excitement.

Daryl had been more excited about their relationship than he currently was about their wedding.

He truly was the worst friend ever.

"Look, I'm sorry man, I'm just not feeling quite myself these days" he rubbed one of his palm against the right side of his face, sighing loudly. "I'm really, really happy for you. Truly. You are perfect for each other, and I guess we all saw that coming at some point. We were just waiting for you to grow some balls and make the first move."

Glenn's smile was back, and Daryl grinned back at him.

"Thanks, man. You know, without you, we wouldn't even have met. We owe you, Daryl."

The redneck shrugged, feeling his neck reddening. He was not used to being praised, and even after all these years with his friends, it never really felt right to be thanked for anything.

"I'm sure you would have found a way" he eventually mumbled, and Glenn rolled his eyes.  
"Of course you couldn't let me thank you properly. Why am I even surprised?"

This time, Daryl snorted, amused by his friend's childish behavior. He nudged him with his elbow, and Glenn let out a small laugh.

"How did things go with Hershel?" asked Daryl, trying to hide his amused grin when Glenn let out a soft and theatrical gasp.  
"Well, better than I thought, to be completely honest" he replied, chuckling. "He mostly is really happy that I'm finally making an honest woman out of her."  
"I'm not sure she'll ever be an honest woman, but yeah" replied Daryl.  
Glenn laughed, hitting Daryl on the back of his head. The redneck growled, but he couldn't help but laugh, too.

"Hey, you better start talking a little better about my future wife."  
"Oh, don't tell me you're getting overprotective now. She's still the scariest of you two, anyway."  
"That she is."

They were back in town, sliding on the smallest roads between the big buildings. The night was falling already, and Daryl turned on the lights of the car, finding its way out of the center of Atlanta. Both him and Glenn lived around the big city and not in it, but it was a necessity for them to take the main road through it to go home.

"Have you agreed on a date yet?" asked Daryl again, once they were stopped at a red light. "for the wedding."  
"Nah, I don't know yet. Shit, I gotta ask her to marry me first. I don't even know if she'll say yes."

He looked frightened, and Daryl shook his head.

"Dude, she'll say yes. She looks at you like you hung up the damn moon, and trust me, that's something."

Glenn did not even look offended, stubborningly looking through the window with a concerned frown crossing his forehead. Daryl knew how much of a struggle it must be for the young man to do such a huge step, mostly because he was a very shy person by nature. He had always been clumsy, and sometimes a little bit awkward, but these things only reminded everyone of how much Glenn fought his anxiety every passing day. In the almost four years since he had met Glenn, Daryl had seen him become a stronger person, a more assured man and most of all, the amazing person he was always meant to be. Of course he had always been a phenomenal person, but in an almost selfish way, Daryl hoped that his relationship with his friends had helped him discover that person. After all, he could shamelessly say that it was the case for him, and that Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne and the Greenes in general had kept him on the right path and helped him in many things through the last five years.

"I mean, I'm nervous" blurted Glenn, still not looking at him. "But I'm excited as well, you know? Hershel was a though part, too. It is scary as fuck to tell a man like Hershel Greene that you want to marry his eldest daughter, for a moment I even thought he would strangle me or make me pass some kind of a test."  
"You passed the test when you managed to keep Maggie for four years, brother" snorted the redneck, amused. "Hershel knows his daughter. He knows what a pain in the ass she can be, too. You were a hero to the man as soon as you passed your first year anniversary."

Glenn looked back at him, and Daryl could clearly see that he was trying to hold back his smile.

"You know Maggie would kill you if she heard, like, 30% of what you said."  
"But she's never going to know, right?" asked Daryl, twitching his left eyebrow. "Because it would be pretty unfortunate for her to know that you're the one who broke the lamp by your bed, and not the cat like you said it was."  
"You wouldn't dare!"

They both snorted with laughter as soon as the world left Glenn's mouth, and Daryl shook his head, amused.

"I swear she would kill us both, your girl's crazy as shit, man. Sometimes, I'm glad to be gay."  
"It does have its advantages" concealed Glenn, shaking his head. "But I've always wondered how it's like, to… you know."

Daryl narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me you're not gonna ask me anything about my sex life."  
"What? No!" Glenn exclaimed, his cheeks turning a bright shade of pink instantly. "I was talking about the living part of the things!"

To say that he was relieved was an understatement. Daryl had never been ashamed of his sexuality and he personally believed that sex was amazing and important in a relationship, but he wasn't ready to talk about homosexual sex of any kind to his friend. Especially considering the time it had been since he had last gotten laid, too.

"Living?" He asked, confused.  
"Well… yeah. Who cooks, who's… you know, taking care of the garden, things like that."

This time, Daryl couldn't help but laugh at loud. He didn't mean to make fun of Glenn, he really didn't, but it was too damn funny. The Korean was still flustered, looking at him and biting his lower lip with worry, and it was too adorable for Daryl to handle it like a responsible adult.

"There is no rule, you know?" he said when he finally stopped laughing. "It's just… how things go, I guess. We don't ask ourselves that much questions. Of course you would" he gestured to Glenn with a shake of his head. "All bothered about society and shit, it's not man or a woman's job when it comes to same sex couples. It just… Happens. I'm usually not the one to cook, not because I'm the most virile or anything but because I couldn't cook to save my life, and you know that because you delivered pizzas to my place often enough."  
"I can't fight you on that one" replied Glenn with a smirk.  
"So I don't really think about it. You know what's the most frustrating thing about being gay?" mumbled Daryl, stopping the car in front of Glenn and Maggie's place. "It's when people wanna know who's the man and who's the woman of the relationship. I'm not talking about chores, but sex this time."

Glenn's eyes widened.

"Don't tell me people really ask that."  
"Oh yeah, they do. You wouldn't believe."

His friend shook his head in disbelief, blinking several times like he needed to get used to the idea. Then, he frowned, and looked back at Daryl.

"Ew! Why the hell would they need to know that?"  
"I don't know. I think they don't understand that the most interesting part in a gay relationship is the fact that there is, indeed, no woman in the picture." said Daryl in a joyful tone, making his friend chuckle. "But yeah… assholes, you know."

Glenn nodded. They both stayed silent, a pregnant pause stretching between them, before Daryl sighed.

"Anyway, thanks for your help man. For the alcohol and all, and for coming with me to the farm."  
"You're welcome. I told you before, I have you back." He smiled widely, pushing his fist against Daryl's raised one in a messy fist bump.  
"And congrats, you know. Even if you didn't ask yet." Daryl added, winking.  
"Fuck, I hope she'll say yes."  
"Of course she will!"

Glenn unbuckled his seat belt, pushing the door opened in a loud creaking noise. Daryl groaned, knowing that he would eventually have to deal with this and the other many problems that his truck had, and turned back to Glenn when the men bent over the opened window, door now closed.

"And about that man, Paul…" he stopped, looking like he was searching for the right words. "Rick told Maggie that you were feeling pretty bad about the whole thing, not knowing his name and all. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you man, I really am."  
"It's okay, Glenn" replied Daryl quickly, fidgeting on his seat uncomfortably. "It doesn't really matter."  
"I think it does."

They looked at each other, and Daryl felt like bowing his head and stare at the floor under his friend's insistent gaze.

"It does, Daryl. Please, stop fighting your attraction for once, and stop thinking you're not good enough."  
"I don't…"  
"You do" Glenn cut him, with a confidence he wasn't used to see in the young man. "You do. And for once, please, don't."

He didn't know what to say, so he just kept his mouth shut, and nodded.


	5. Them (part 1)

Sunday evening came pretty quickly, much to Daryl's pleasure. He had seen Hershel and Annette only a few days before, but he was already missing the couple. Plus, it was Carl's birthday celebration, and it was one of the days of the year where he could spoil the little boy without Rick being a dick about it. So, he loved this day so far. And while putting on a clean shirt, and combing his hair a little, he looked at himself in the mirror and tried to smile. Yes, this day was going to be a good day, he was sure of it.  
He had wrapped Carl's birthday present days before already, exchanging shifts with T-Dog to be able to come to the party on this day. He worked so many extra hours that his boss couldn't keep him from spending the day with his family, anyway.

After taking the time to put on some regular but clean clothes, he drove to Rick's house to get to the farm with them, his truck way too small to take them four. When he arrived, Carl was already running around the living room under his father's tired gaze, and Daryl smiled at him with sympathy.

"Did you take my present?" asked the kid as soon as he got inside the house, running to Daryl with a big smile and circling his legs with his small arms as soon as he was inside of the house.  
"Carl! That's incredibly rude, for one" interrupted Rick, brows frowned and armed crossed over his chest. "Daryl just got there, and you don't ask someone about their gifts anyway. I've told you that a dozen of times already."

The boy pouted, looking up at Daryl with a pitiful expression, which made him laugh.

"Oh come on, you know I wouldn't forget something that important" teased the redneck, showing off the gift he had wrapped a few days before, careful not to let the kid catch it with his sticky hands.

Carl's smile was contagious, and soon enough Daryl was grinning as well. He looked up at Rick when his best friend rolled his eyes, trying hard not to smile at the sight, and turned to Michonne when she entered the room.

"Wow" Daryl exclaimed, looking at the woman up and down without even exaggerating his surprise.

She had put on a yellow dress, revealing her curves with taste and hiding her long legs. She really looked like the queen she was born to be in some other universe, and Daryl himself had to admit that she looked really attractive in that dress.

"Girl, you're way too good for this old man" said Daryl with a smirk and mentioning to his brother, currently looking at his girlfriend with an half opened mouth.  
"Don't you think I know that?" teased Michonne, twisting around to show the movement of the smooth tissue, smiling at her boyfriend with pride and a little glimpse of sufficiency.  
"Why the hell do you keep him then?"  
"You do know I can hear you both, right?" Rick's voice was annoyed, but Daryl could feel the amusement creeping behind the words.

It didn't help his case that he was still looking at Michonne with a heated gaze, and Daryl really hoped that he wouldn't pop a boner right here and now. Carl did not need to see this, and neither did he, damnit.

"Oh well, you know" Michonne teased, looking at Carl to make sure that the kid wasn't listening, before winking at Daryl.

The hunter growled, covering his eyes with his big palms.

"You know, there are certain things that I don't want to know about my brother," he playfully pushed his fist against Michonne's shoulder while she laughed "and his sexual life is one of this things."  
"Well that's a shame" replied the woman with a mischievous smile, and Daryl made a face.  
"I don't want to know anything. Thank you very much."

He looked back at Rick who snorted, but his cheeks were tainted with a light shade a pink this time.

"Can we go now?" interrupted Carl, annoyed, looking at Daryl instead of his dad and completely unaware of the conversation going on between the adults.

The damn kid knew too well that the hunter couldn't refuse him anything.

"Yeah, yeah, we're going" sighed Rick, bending over Michonne to put a kiss on her lips before grabbing the car keys. "But you better calm yourself a little before we get there, or there won't be any presents for you today."

Carl whined, grabbing Daryl's hand in his own with force.

"You know I'd give you mine anyway" whispered the older man, loud enough for his best friend to hear him.  
"Daryl, don't mess with my authority." Rick gave him a warning look.

This time, the hunter kept his groan to himself. He knew when he was going a little bit too far, and although it was never something that Rick would say out loud, it was difficult enough to raise a kid almost by his own for the cop. Michonne was not Carl's biological mother, and she was often letting him take the lead when it came to punishment or authority. When Daryl was around, Carl was often trying to push the limits of Rick's authority, like all kids would do. So it was often time for Daryl to step back, and let him be the dad.

"Come on, everyone in the car" interrupted Michonne, snatching the keys from Rick's hold.

They all but jumped in the car, letting Michonne drive and Rick sit next to her. Daryl found himself sitting next to Carl, but he didn't mind for the slightest, letting the boy play with his flip phone during the entire ride. He really, really needed a new phone. Carl's frown when he asked for a smartphone and ended up playing snakes on his old mobile was almost comical, though.

At some point during the ride, Daryl's eyes fell on Rick and Michonne's hand, and his throat tightened just slightly. He loved seeing his friend happy, especially since he had never heard about a big fight since they had gotten married two years before. He really did. But the little glances they were giving each other at the red light, or the way their hands entwined on Michonne's thigh while she drove? It was a little too much for him to bear at the moment. And he felt extremely selfish for it, but he just couldn't tear his eyes away.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake Paul away from his thoughts. He found himself daydreaming about a proper life with him, or big declarations if he ever saw the man again. Reality, that was a very different thing, unfortunately. But wasn't it always?  
First of all, Daryl would probably babble some stupid shit in front of him if he ever saw Paul again, and make a fool of himself. Second of all, Paul was young. And beautiful. And Daryl looked like he had just killed the neighbor's wife most of the time, with his shaggy clothes and greasy hair. Third of all, Paul was way out of his league in so many ways. Mostly because he was young and beautiful (did he mention beautiful again? because he truly was), and because no one in their right mind would ever want someone like Daryl, working in a shitty bar and barely able to keep it together when it came to money. Paul was a nurse, probably earning more than he ever would, he went to the University and had a degree. Daryl? Daryl was nothing.

He sighed, cringing when he realized that he had let out the sound a little too loudly in the car to be unnoticed. As soon as it passed his lips, Rick turned his head around to look at him, and he tried to spin his as quickly as he could to look through the window next to him. He knew that Rick was still looking at him suspiciously, his piercing blue eyes burning the side of his face, but he tried to ignore it, until they arrived at Hershel's farm.

'"Daryl?" his best friend asked, once they were all out of the car, Carl already running inside of the house to great Hershel and Annette. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"  
Michonne did not look startled, entering the house without a glance back and letting both men figure things out together.

"Huh, yeah, sure."  
He had no choices, really. All he could do was to stay behind, and face Rick. Not that he minded his best friend's concern, no, that was pretty nice. But he felt utterly ridiculous because the entire situation, and it was pissing him off.

"I'm sorry about the whole nurse story" began Rick, and Daryl could feel that he was struggling with the words.

Rick was a man of many words, and never had any problems to express himself. He guessed he was just trying to be gentle with him, tiptoeing around the words.

"Rick… We don't gotta do that, man." He tried to avoid the subject as much as he could, relieving them both. Mostly because the aching feeling in his stomach wouldn't go away, and he didn't want to ruin Carl's party with his sour mood.  
"Yes we do" insisted his brother, frowning. "Daryl… Damn, man. I don't even know what to say. I've never seen you like this."

Daryl shrugged, feeling in his tight throat that he wouldn't be able to speak properly without choking on his words. Freaking ridiculous.

"I've known heartbreaks before, you know?" tried Rick again, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
"It ain't a damn heartbreak, man" groaned Daryl, flustered. "I don't even know him. I just wanted to, you know? Never got the chance, that's all. Shouldn't be a big deal."  
"It's still a heartbreak. Not knowing him doesn't mean that you couldn't have the desire to start something with him. And you clearly did, brother. I knew it from the moment you talked about him, because it never happened before. I'm not talking about one night stands or anything similar to that, I'm talking about relationships. You've been my friend for five years, Daryl, and I've never seen you letting yourself enjoy something like you wanted to do with this Paul."

He stopped, trying to catch Daryl's gaze with his own. The hunter stubbornly kept his eyes down, face facing the floor and cheeks red.

"I'm not trying to corner you into saying something, or admitting that you wanted something more, Daryl" said Rick with a soft tone, hands soft on Daryl's shoulders. "I just want to help you. And don't know how."

The redneck nodded, sighing softly when he realized that the words acted like a calming balm on a throbbing injury. Even if it did nothing to arrange the state of his heart, he could breathe a little better now, knowing that Rick would be by his side no matter what. Like always.

"I just feel incredibly stupid" he finally managed to blurt out, shaking his head. "Acting like this, when I barely met him… Why the fuck am I so bothered? I feel ridiculous."

Rick smiled, amused.

"Are you seriously asking me, of all people, to explain how love works? Man, I'm the worst at that kind of things. It took me three years to ask Michonne to marry me because I kept having nightmares about Lori and Shane taking Carl away. And when I did? I blurted the words out like it burned my tongue, right after, if don't you mind me saying it, a pretty cool session of hot sex. Not the best way to work things out, I'm telling you."

It did make Daryl laugh softly, and both men shook their heads after a couple of seconds of pregnant silence.

"We're hopeless, aren't we?" finally whispered Daryl, looking up at the door of the big house.  
Michonne might have told them not to disturb the two men, explaining why no one had come looking for them yet. Still, he could hear the faint laughter and the music inside, and Rick followed his gaze.

"We should probably get inside before they start worrying and come outside" he said, patting Daryl's shoulder before letting go and mentioning to the porch.  
"Yeah, we should."

Daryl's question was left without answer, but both men already knew why. They truly were helpless, and there was no denying it.

Paul was nervous.

Not that it was anything new, because Paul was always nervous. Or at least, most of the time. Maybe, 80% of the time. But he was working on it.

The thing is, Paul wasn't used to see so many people at once. Now, he knew Hershel and Annette, and they were dolls. Like, real dolls. They never had a thing to say about his sexuality, the fact that he was living with their youngest daughter as well, the fact that Beth and himself were so close, or so many things that he could have done wrong in decent people's standards. But that didn't help, or at least not today. There were a lot of people to this party. Like, a lot. Most of them were close to Beth and his family and he had heard of them, some he didn't know at all.

This was why he was trying to make himself as small as possible, hidden in the kitchen and trying desperately to look for something to do and make himself useful. Annette wouldn't let him help with anything, not that there was anything to do, really. Apart from bringing more glasses and more crisps. Which meant going to the living room again.

"Are you okay, son?"

Paul jumped, startled, something that he'd firmly deny later on. Turning around quickly, he faced the voice with a shy smile, nodding to Hershel instantly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just looking for Annette, actually."

The way the old man stared at him told Paul that he didn't believe a single word of what he said, but he hummed anyway. Maybe out of pity, or just respect.

"Did Beth abandon you here?" asked the Hershel again, grabbing the bottle of orange juice to pour himself some.  
"Huh, not really. I ran away from her and everyone else, actually."  
He wasn't really proud to admit it, but he figured that Hershel knew him too well already. He wasn't the kind of person to lie, anyway. He had known Hershel and his family for a while now, and he respected them enough not to hide his true emotions, even the bad ones.

"Yeah, this entire crowd can be pretty suffocating" nodded Hershel. "Especially considering the fact that everyone knows everyone, and you kind of feel like an outsider sometimes, right?"

Paul wondered if the old man had ever been in his situation before. Hershel did not look like the kind of man to be shy, or at least uncomfortable with the crowd. But he did like his free time sometimes, and maybe it was why he was currently here too. So the young nurse nodded, trying to force a small smile on his lips.

"Yeah. Yeah, I kinda… needed to be alone. Just for a few minutes."  
"It's okay, you know? To feel like this, sometimes." Hershel sat at the table, sipping his orange juice quietly.  
Paul shrugged. "I don't know. I just can't fight it, so I guess I'll just have to live with it."

They stayed quiet for a few seconds, and Hershel smiled back at him.

"But, I'm telling you… all the people out there? They're all adorable. Truly. You do know it's Carl's birthday, right? The kid you saw jumping around the living room."

Paul chuckled, nodding his head. Carl had been pretty hard to miss, running around the living room and talking to everyone including the people he didn't know. He had liked the kid instantly, amused by his shiny eyes and welcoming personality.

"Well Rick, his father, is the town's sheriff deputy. And he's also one of the best man I've met in my life, and that's saying something. You'll love him. I'm sure you'll do."  
"Wait, are you trying to set me up with him?" asked Paul, amused. "Because it sure sounds like it."

It was Hershel's turn to be amused, and he chuckled.

"Oh, no. Unfortunately for you, he's married already. But you'll love him, trust me. Him and his family."

Paul nodded, still amused. Hershel always had the capacity to make him smile, even in the darkest times. He already felt a little better being here with him, talking about small things.

"Oh, well. Then I'll keep my hands to myself."  
"You better. I don't want any adultery in my house, Paul Rovia." His tone was harsh, but his words playful, and Paul smiled even wider.  
"Duly noted, sir."

Hershel took another big gulp of orange juice, his eyes never leaving Paul. The young man could feel the old man's questions hanging in the air, and briefly wondered if he was going to do something about it. Something evidently bothered the man, and it was the first time he'd ever seen a curious glimpse in the eyes of Beth's father.

"Something happened to you, son?" finally asked Hershel, his soft tone startling the nurse.  
"What do you mean?"  
"It's just… a feeling, I guess. I've never seen you quite like this. I couldn't even put proper words on it, you just look… Sad. And hopeful at the same time."

Paul didn't quite know what to answer. He was aware that it had been a pretty tiring week, with all the shifts he took to be able to be completely free on the Sunday. He did feel a little down, probably because of the whole biker story, but he's already made his mind about the whole thing. Because he will probably never be able to see the man again, so he decided to do his best to forget him.

"I'm just really tired, that's all" replied Paul with a small smile. "It's been a long week. Lot of things happened… I think I really need to take some time for myself."

Hershel looked contemplative after this, eyes leaving Paul's to focus on the window behind the young man.

"Sometimes, it feels like time is running away so fast that you cannot grasp the good moments and make it stop just for a minute, to enjoy it properly" nodded Hershel, and Paul wasn't sure of what it really meant. Then, he turned his head, looking at him once again. "Beth is telling me you've been working hard lately."  
"I'm just trying to do things right." He replies quietly.  
"Yes, but for who exactly?"  
Paul shrugged, looking down at his feet awkwardly. The farmer had always been able to read him so easily, it wasn't even funny or amusing anymore.

"I'm finding myself" he promised, more firmly this time. "I think I found my place, at the hospital. Now, I just need to find it in this world."

In the pregnant pause between the two men, the young nurse waited for Hershel to finish his drink, wash and rince it, before nodding to himself and straightening his back.

"I guess I should go back with you before Beth starts panicking and wondering where I'm hiding" he said, trying to hide his anxiety with a smile.  
"Son" Hershel whispered, putting a firm hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly. "You know Beth or any of us would never force you to do anything you don't want to do, right? If you don't feel comfortable here, we're not forcing you to stay. We have rooms upstairs, don't hesitate if you need to go away for a while. It's okay to take time for yourself, too."  
"You're too good to me, Hershel" sighed Paul, trying to ease back the bundle of emotion forming inside his throat, swallowing thickly. "Thank you. I'll probably never say it enough, though. Thank you for what you've always done for me."  
"You're good to my little girl" replied Hershel, and this time his tone was soft, softer than Paul's ever heard him talk. "You're family."

Paul didn't need much convincing, after that. He was not in an unknown territory, with unknown people. All the people gathered in the house were people that Hershel and Beth trusted, and that should have been enough for him. Taking a deep breath, Paul finally got out of the kitchen and faced the world.

As soon as Daryl got inside the big house, he couldn't help but smile, sadness forgotten for a short while. His friends were all gathered in the big house, and he realized how much he had missed them all at that moment, when he laid ayes on them. Some turned around when he entered, greeting Rick and him, some don't look like they acknowledged him yet. But it doesn't really matter, because they're all there, and Daryl is going to spend the day surrounded by people he loves.

He crossed the living room to join Maggie and Glenn in a corner, the two lovers holding hands and whispering things to each other with a dumb smile plastered on their faces. Daryl wondered for a moment if Glenn had asked her to marry him yet, but he was pretty sure the news would have been spread like the plague already. So he kept his mouth shut for the moment, already ready to tease them both about their idiot smiles and giggles.

"Are you not tired of not leaving each other's sides yet?" asked Rick behind him, and Daryl realized that he had been followed by his best friend without even noticing. The damn bastard was sneaky as fuck.

Rick's hand lingered on his arm, and he couldn't help but feel grateful at the contact, trying to make it obvious by the look he threw at the man. He even felt like hugging him, and that was saying something.

"You're just too jealous" groaned Glenn, rolling his eyes so hard it must have hurt. Daryl wanted to do the same, but refrained himself, even if barely. At the same time, Rick tightened his hold on his arm, and he could see the way his amused eyes stared at the left side of his head. He knew what Daryl's struggle was, because the man always seamed to know everything, and it made the entire thing even funnier.

"I'm so glad to see you guys again" exclaimed Maggie with a smile, interrupting her friend's childish behavior and hugging the redneck tight against her chest. "Especially you, Daryl. I've heard so many amazing things about you lately." She mentioned to Glenn, who at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed, and smiled wide.  
"Don't tell me you're attacking the jugular already" muttered the hunter.

He seriously wished he could have grabbed a drink before, which would have allowed him to hide his red cheeks efficiently. Rick's firm hold on his arm was reminding him that he wasn't alone though, and he could not be more grateful about that. Sometimes, he still felt like he could lose his balance very quickly without his best friend's presence beside him. Luckily, Rick Grimes was never very far away.

"Oh we're going there" nodded Maggie, a wide smile on her face. "We're definitely going there. I want to know everything."  
"I'm sure he already told you everything" Daryl mentioned to Glenn, trying to send a dead glare to his friend at the same time.

The Korean did not look startled, smiling even wider than before. He handed Maggie a drink of champagne, taking care of the empty one she was holding. "You have no idea."

Dary knew that no one but them were paying attention to the very private conversation, yet he felt his cheek heat up and groaned in embarrassment.

"You are the worst friends ever. All of you."  
"No we're not. We just care too much about you."  
"What about me?" whined Rick, using his baby blue eyes to look at his friends and gain his sympathy.

Daryl snorted.

"You're alright."

He heard Maggie chuckle, and felt Rick's fist colliding with his shoulder less than a second later. He could not help his amused snort, The conversation went on pretty easily, the subject sliding to something else much to Daryl's pleasure. He didn't see Beth yet, learning from her sister that the young girl was somewhere with one of her friend, who wasn't a big fan of the crowd. He could be patient, though. He couldn't wait to hug the tiny girl, but he knew how important friendship were.

"Oh, there she is" suddenly interrupted Maggie, mentioning to the other side of the living room. "Beth! Over here!"

Without thinking, Daryl turned around. His entire body froze when his gaze was met by a very well known pair of blue eyes, the same blue eyes that had been haunting his wildest dreams for the last couple of weeks.

Shit.


	6. Them (part 2)

Time stopped for a handful of seconds, and it was all it took for Daryl to let out a muffled confused sound that snapped everyone back to reality, and to the current situation. Paul blinked once, then twice, before biting his lower lip and turning around to run away without looking back. Almost immediately, Beth's eyes widened, and she briefly squinted at Daryl before following the young man outside. Daryl hadn't missed the pure look of horror on the young man's face, and it tightened his heart to know that somehow, he was the one who had caused it.  
"What the fuck just happened?" asked Glenn, breaking the silence and turning his head to stare at the hunter with suspicious eyes.  
"I…"  
The hunter stopped talking, finding himself incapable of doing so at the moment and closed his mouth, still in shock. He could feel his cheeks reddening under his friend's gazes, but he was too shaken to care at the moment. Eventually, he'd blame himself for letting his tired body take control, but that would be later.

"Huh, guys… this is Paul" he finally breathed out all at once. "This… I don't know what happened, exactly, but this is Paul."

Realization hit them like a punch in the guts, and Daryl was low-key amused to see their faces slowly switch from confused to shocked. He almost expected them to speak all at the same time like in the damn movies Rick loved to binge watch when he had a day off, and would have totally smiled at the idea in another totally different situation.

"Wait, what?" interrupted Maggie, holding her hands up, eyes wide open. "Paul? You mean your Paul? The Paul from the ER and the bar?"  
"He's not my Paul" Daryl replied weakly, trying not to freak out and blush even more. "He's… wait, do you know him?"  
"Of course I know him" squealed the woman, shaking her head in disbelief. "He's Beth's best friend! Has been for years, actually!"

Maggie looked like she was totally lost, which was saying something. Because no matter the situation, Maggie Greene was a born leader. And she was always the one keeping it cool, even in the darkest times. She looked back at the door where Beth and Paul had disappeared, then back to Daryl.

"Oh my god" she whispered, this time softly.

Her eyes landed on Daryl, and realization slowly filled her face, like she knew something he didn't know yet. Which, knowing Maggie, was totally plausible.  
"Daryl, are you freaking out?" Rick's voice was filled with worry, and Daryl finally noticed that he was breathing fast, faster than usual. He shook his head, trying to focus on something else than his rising anxiety, his entire mind buzzing and found himself incapable of focusing on a single thought at the time.  
"Daryl is freaking out" nodded Glenn, pouring some water in an empty glass and handing it to the redneck who took it immediately.

He swallowed a few gulps of cold water and let it ease the panic he could already feel crushing the inside of his chest. He even took the time to close his eyes, think about the situation and how he was going to handle it. After all, he had been worried about not seeing Paul again after that night at the bar. Shouldn't he be happy? But the situation had taken him by surprise, and he couldn't really focus on anything else than his initial shock at the moment.  
"Wait a minute" he managed hoarsely, opening his eyes to focus on Maggie. "You said he's Beth's best friend, right?"  
She nodded.

"Your twenty-two years old sister" he kept going slowly, before wincing. "Please don't tell me he's twenty-two."

Maggie bit the inside of her lip, her amusement now entire clear on her face, her eyes shining with delight. "Nope. Twenty-five."  
"Oh my God, I'm going to jail."

This time, his friends let themselves laugh at loud, laughing only harder when Daryl offered them a mortified look, clearly offended by their lack of compassion.  
"Technically, I can't do anything against that. He's legal, you can carry on."

Rick, that bastard.  
"I think this is the best day of my life."  
This time it was Glenn, and Daryl wanted to hit them all in the face. He admitted (though, never out loud) that it was kind of funny, but his fogged brain was too troubled to even think about laughing for the moment. He would probably hear about it for the next ten years at least, and that part wasn't funny at all. Unable to do anything else, Daryl sighed loudly.

Outside, Paul was considering running away as fast as he could. The farm was surrounded by woods, and he didn't really know where they ended, but he was more than ready to find out. He barely took the time to stop his legs after a few meters and breath deeply, his legs working as an automatism and leading him to the end of the property, and most of all, to his shitty car. He briefly prayed that it would work and start in the first try, because he was in no mood to take a look inside the hood of the car and fix it right now.  
"Paul! Paul, wait!"

He didn't have to turn his head around to know that Beth had followed him outside, but he didn't feel like facing her yet. His lungs were burning and his eyes watering against his will, and he really needed some time alone. Away from this house, preferably.  
"Please, Paul, would you just stop for a second?"  
Beth managed to grab his arm, and as much as he wanted to push her away, he would never do this to his best friend. She stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop his quick steps and look at her. Concern was plastered all over her face, but it didn't ease Paul's anger. He knew he wasn't being rational, but he needed to get things off his chest.

"Did you know?" he spat, voice shaking. "Did you know, during all the times I've told you about him?"  
"No, Paul, I didn't know, I swear."  
"Did you have fun mocking me with your friends while I was literally talking about how depressed I was not to see him again, knowing you could have just told me he was someone you obviously know very well? How many times have I told you about that hot guy called Daryl, looking hot as hell and with these big bleue eyes? It's not like everyone in this town matches the description. So tell me, Beth, did you have fun?"

His harsh words resonated in the empty space between them and Beth blinked a few times, startled.

"Do you really mean that?" she finally asked, her voice rough with disappointment. "Do you really think I could have done that to you? Do you really think so little of me? Of course I know Daryl very well, and I've thought about the fact that it could be him a few times, yes. But I've never… I never thought that two of the most important persons in my life would end up being connected somehow. So if you truly believe that I'd be the kind of person to do that, I'm not sure I can continue this conversation right now."

Paul sighed, letting his arms fall by his sides and bowing his head.

"No… I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Beth. I just… I don't know what to do. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."  
He sniffed, swallowing back his tears. His arms fell open, and Beth snuggled in his embrace, kissing his cheek.

"That's your opportunity, dumbass" said Beth, smiling again against his neck. "You wanted to see him again, right? Well, you do now."  
"I don't know, Beth… it's just… I don't know if I can do this."  
"What do you mean you don't know if you can do this? Go ahead. Talk to him. He's the sweetest man ever, don't get confused by his attitude. But you know that already, don't you?"  
Paul shook his head again.  
"You don't get it. I can't… It was different, at the hospital. Because he was a patient, because it was a professional relationship and I couldn't make a food of myself even if I tried. Now, things changed, you know? It's just Paul, not the nurse. He doesn't need me anymore."  
"Yes, you are 'just' Paul, and you are so much more than a nurse." replied Beth with a kind smile, stepping back a little to squeeze his hands gently. "Let Daryl see that, please."

He considered his friend's words for a moment, considering his envy to go back inside the house or stay outside alone for a little while. He was confused, mostly shocked to see Daryl here and his anxious state wouldn't let him relax and think straight for the moment. But he trusted his best friend, and he knew that she would never say something she didn't mean or truly believed.  
"I don't know, Beth" he finally confessed. "I don't know if I can do that."  
"Of course you can. Stop bringing yourself down like this."  
"I'm not…"  
"You are. And I won't let you do that. Because you are my friend, and I love you, and I trust you."

Her words finally achieved to relax him almost completely, and he let his shoulders drop. He bit the inside of his lower lip, abusing the tender flesh, before nodding to his friend.

"Alright. I'll go inside."

"Awesome! Thank you so much!" exclaimed Carl, jumping in Daryl's arms with a huge smile plastered on his face.  
"I'm glad ya like it buddy" whispered the redneck against his ear, trying to ignore Rick's sharp look.

He knew how much Rick hated video games, but he had made sure with Michonne that it was still okay to buy Carl the Nintendo Switch, the little boy daydreaming about the console for months now. He had spent most of his last paycheck in the gift, but once again it didn't matter as long as it made Carl happy. And deep down, Daryl was pretty sure that Rick was more worried about the money than the time his son would spend on the console. Rick had a tendency to be worried about him about everything, his savings being one of the most recurrent subject of discussion lately. But the way his heart swelled in his chest when Carl hugged him tight, his little heart hammering against his chest and reverberating through Daryl's body? It was priceless. He had never really thought about having children of his own, but he'd be damn if Carl didn't make him consider the thing. Maybe one day, with the right person, if he ever found them.

"I love it. Thank you! I love you so much, you're the best!"  
Carl planted a wet kiss against Daryl's jaw and the redneck chuckled, holding the little boy in his arms firmly. Behind them, the front door opened then closed to let Paul and Beth in, but the hunter was still unaware of their presence, caught up in Carl's intense babbling.  
"You gotta promise me you won't spend your entire time on this, okay" mumbled Daryl, putting Carl down eventually, kissing his forehead. "You know your dad will kill both you and me."

Behind them, Beth chuckled affectionally. Paul couldn't help but smile as well, his eyes staring at the back of the bartender's head. His heart was swelling against his ribcage, and he could feel its tremors in his entire body. To find himself face to face with Daryl again made him lightheaded in a way he hadn't felt in years. When he had thought about the older man lately, he had never really thought about running into him in such a situation. He hadn't been prepared, and in a way, it might be better. Because he might have been anxious at this moment, but he was forced to do something about the situation. He had fled once, from the bar when T-Dog was replacing Daryl, and he couldn't run away now.

"You know I heard you, right?" said Rick, stepping in and ruffling his boy's hair affectionally before patting Daryl on the back.

His eyes were stick to the bartender, the beginning of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"I ain't afraid of you, old man."

Rick laughed, hitting his friend on the shoulder playfully. They stared at each other with a grin, communicating with their eyes, and Paul suddenly felt sick.  
"Unfortunately for you, he's married already. But you'll love him, trust me. Him and his family". Hershel's words reverberated in his buzzy mind, and he suddenly felt nauseous. Why didn't he notice that before? Of course Daryl was already taken. And looked very in love, too. The golden ring on Rick's finger was shining under the bright light of the living room, mocking him from afar, and Paul exhaled shakily.

"Are you okay, Paul?" asked Beth beside him, looking worried.  
He nodded, forcing a smile on his face. Once again, he wanted to run away from this place. Why did Beth fail to tell him this obviously very important detail? She knew that he was interested in the man. Hell, she had been excited about this!

"Yeah. Yeah, I am."  
"Come on" she said, taking his hand, unaware of his discomfort. "I'm gonna introduce you to them."

He followed, because what else could he do? He repressed a sigh when she gave him a sharp look for his reluctance, but she must have thought that he was too shy to go himself because she made no further comment on the matter. He still felt uneasy, especially since Glenn and Maggie were looking right at them now, but said nothing. He could do this. After all, it was only for a day. A couple of hours, and then he'd be home, eating an unhealthy amount of ice cream in front of a cheesy romantic movie.

"Rick, Daryl" waved Beth, pushing Paul towards them. "This is Paul. I know you know already, but I'd like to formally introduce you to each other."

Paul noted that Daryl's cheeks were a little red and he felt studied when Rick laid eyes on him, a small smirk on his lips. Although his gaze wasn't meant to be mean, Paul felt himself grow tense. He felt studied, evaluated, and he didn't know why the man was showing such an interest in him suddenly. Paul wasn't the kind of guy to steal someone's boyfriend (or husband), and Rick didn't have to worry about that. Although, the cop technically didn't know it yet and was surely seeing him as a direct threat. But Paul was ready to make sure the man wouldn't be too worried about him seducing his boyfriend. He smiled back at both of them, trying to look genuine.

"I'm glad to meet you" said Paul, shaking Rick's hand before looking down at Carl, who was proudly showing off his new nintendo switch to the entire world, tucked against his small chest. "And happy birthday, young boy" he said to the child, the little boy grinning from ear to ear.  
"Thank you sir!"  
"You can call me Paul, you know?"

Carl shrugged.

"Daddy always asks me to be polite, so I try to be."  
"Yeah, try is the right world" chuckled Rick, making goofy eyes at Paul.

The nurse couldn't help but snort as well. Rick looked nice, very nice even. Carl walked up to him, shaking him from his thoughts, before frowning.

"I think uncle Daryl's in love with you" he said, with all the seriousness in the world. "He talks so much about you, and daddy said that when someone talks a lot about you, it means that they really really like you. And uncle Daryl talked about a nice guy at dinner the other night, and again in the phone with daddy after, so…" the young boy shrugged, looking back at his -very- stunned father.

Behind Carl, Daryl flushed crimson red. His eyes fell on the floor and Rick took Carl's hand in his, ready to exit the very awkward scene going on.

"Uhhhhh" said Rick, part amused and part stunned by his kid's audacity. "I think it's my cue to leave. It was nice meeting you, Paul!"

Next to him, Paul thought he heard Carl mumbled "what did I say?", before turning around to focus his attention on Daryl.

Damn, he looked cute. More than cute, actually. He looked adorable, and even if his fuzzy brain was getting a bit confused by the situation and the real nature of Rick and Daryl's relationship, all the nurse wanted to do was to kiss him, right there, right now.

"So" Paul finally said, and he quite surprised himself by making the first step. It usually didn't happen that way, but with Daryl, he found himself ready to do anything.  
"Yeah, hum, sorry about that" rasped the older man, looking just as red as before. "I'm… yeah, things usually don't go that way."

This time, Paul laughed. A full, open mouthed laugh. He didn't remember the last time he had laughed so openly, and he didn't even remember the last time he had felt the flutters of butterflies in his stomach like he did now. It felt like living again, or breathing a deep gulp of air after being under water for so long, and Paul loved it very much.

"I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you" he finally said, still smiling. "It's just… That was cute, you know? He looks like a cool kid."  
"He is" replied Daryl instantly, feeling more at ease with the conversation. "He's the sweetest. Just like his dad."

Suddenly, Paul was reminded of Rick, and his previous belief that him and Daryl were married.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked, unsure.

The redneck blinked, startled. He then frowned before nodding slowly, his eyes never leaving Paul.

"Yeah, sure."  
"You're not… You're not married to Rick, right? I saw his wedding ring, and Hershel mentioned him being with someone. I saw how close you two were, so…"

Completely silent, Daryl looked at him for a couple of seconds before smirking mischievously.

"Did you actually think Rick and I were married?" he snorted, looking a little less ashamed now. "This is too good. I need to tell Michonne."  
"Michonne?" Paul interrupted, too worried about that unknown person to care about Daryl's teasing.  
"Rick's wife. Carl's stepmother."  
"Oh. Right. So, Rick's…?"  
"Rick's my brother" Daryl said with a found look on his face. "Not by blood, but just the same. I saved his kid, a few years back. Gave him Michonne's number, she's a layer, and they got married a couple of years after. They're my family. But I ain't… Rick's husband."  
"Oh."

He kinda felt like an idiot, but Daryl's amused smile made him smile back, even if he felt himself flush under the older man's gaze. Once again, he felt studied, but he didn't feel the same as with Rick. Rick had been trying to find something, that thing probably being the proof that he was good enough for Daryl, now that Paul knew that they weren't together. Daryl, on the other hand, looked at him with fondness. His gaze was interested, and he could feel the other man's eyes studying his body, making his pulse race. Daryl seamed to like what he saw because he looked up and caught Paul's eyes, before smiling even wider.

"Do you want to go out for a bit? I feel observed here."

The words woken Paul from his thoughts and he looked around, not missing Glenn and Maggie's eyes drifting away from them quickly. Rick and Michonne were nowhere to be found, and the few other faces weren't known to him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'd like that."

Daryl nodded, and they both began walking to the stairs. Paul remembered Hershel talking about a guest room, available for him if he felt suffocated in the crowed a little while before. While they were walking up the stairs, Paul hoped that Daryl's friends and most of all the Greene family wouldn't mind or most of all make ideas about the whole thing.

"Are you okay?" asked Daryl once the bedroom door was closed behind them.

Paul sat on the bed, making himself as comfortable as possible. He knew that the situation was pretty amazingly weird already and that two grown men obviously attracted to each other were going to sit on a bed and talk. If someone had told him a few days ago that he'd end up in this situation with the man he'd dreamed about in the last few days, he definitely wouldn't have believed them.

"I am, thanks. It's just…" he stopped, unsure. "I tend to get a little anxious, sometimes. I know it doesn't look like it, but it's different, when it's my job. I am in control, people are counting on me. Here, however… it's just different. And I wasn't expecting this encounter… like, at all."

Daryl seemed to accept his answer, nodding thoughtfully.

"You don't have to be nervous around me" he finally said. "After all, my best friend's son just completely outed me in front of you a couple of minutes before. Can't do better than that."

Paul laughed softly.

"Yeah. About that, that was very sweet."  
"Probably because you weren't the person humiliated, yeah." shrugged Daryl, amused.

The younger man rolled his eyes.

"There was nothing humiliating about this situation, Daryl. Really. I have to say, I kinda liked it."

A silence followed that declaration, Daryl playing nervously with his fingers while Paul studied him. His hair looked even softer than the last time he had seen him, and the younger man truly believed that it was a shame that it hid most of his face and his oh so pretty blue eyes. His body was tall and strong, the muscles of his arms bulging when he moved. Paul wanted to kiss him even more than before, now that he had the chance to take a closer look at his muscled form. Neither men dared to take the first step, while they obviously both wanted it. So Paul took a deep breath, and started talking again.

"So, you talked about me?" he finally asked, the redneck reddening under his insistent gaze.

It was fascinating to see how a grown and muscled man like Daryl Dixon could flush under another man's gaze so easily. Paul swore that he'd make his personal mission to make Daryl blush more often, because he simply looked too adorable for his own good with a pink tone to his cheeks, hidden under his overgrown bangs.

"Yeah, I did. It's your fault, though."  
"Oh really?" Paul laughed, raising a brow.

Daryl's amused smirk was back, and he finally found the courage to cross the room and sit next to Paul. Their thighs were almost touching, and the younger man could feel his body heat from where he was sitting. The atmosphere in the room was more relaxed now, even with their bodies so close to each other. The initial shyness was finally leaving both men, and they found themselves simply enjoying each other's presence. The fact that they were alone seamed to have relaxed both of them fully, and Paul caught himself staring at the other man's lips without shame. Daryl didn't seem to notice though, resuming their conversation like nothing had happened.

"Yeah, it is. You fixed me up looking like a damn angel when I had just been stabbed, I couldn't shake you out of my head. You can't blame me, you know. You kinda saved my life and stuff, just like in the movies. I had to talk about my knight in shiny armor saving my sorry ass."

To say that Paul didn't feel more butterfly flying in his stomach at that confession would have been a lie. He even bit the inside of his bottom lip, to refrain himself from saying something stupid. Instead, he snorted loudly, hoping that the other man wouldn't find it unattractive. This conversation felt surreal. In most case, he would have laughed at that declaration but it somehow sounded real and genuine when Daryl said it. And with the way the older man was looking at him, he knew it wasn't just words, or so he hoped.

Paul didn't know how he got so lucky. It felt like a dream, this entire situation, and the way he felt in this moment. He had seen numerous movies about falling in love, he had seen the way characters looked at each other and how love was described in books and poems. But it had never happened to him for real before. For a moment, a few months back, he had thought that he was in love with Alex. But feeling like he felt now, all dizzy and warm inside, he knew it wasn't love back with the surgeon. And he wasn't able to call it love yet, this thing he had with Daryl. But he was pretty sure, looking into the other man's eyes, that it would eventually be if the older man allowed it and if they gave each other a chance.

"If you wanna feel better… I might have talked a lot about you, too." finally admitted the younger man with a shy smile.  
"Oh really?"  
"Yes. I can't believe you know Beth. I told her so many embarrassing things. She's never gonna let me live with that now."

Daryl's smile was now turning coy, and Paul almost regretted admitting that he had talked to Beth. They both obviously knew each other very well, and they would not hesitate to make fun of him at the first occasion. Although he had to admit that if it was the price to see Daryl smile, he would gladly let both of them make fun of him for as long as they wished.

"I might have been a little cheesy with Rick as well" retorted Daryl, sighing dramatically. "It's not my fault, he's being so romantic all the time you know, he practically asked for it. The damn guys undresses Michonne with his eyes every damn time he sees her. They've been married for years, isn't it supposed to be like… over now? Sometimes she's wearing a white teeshirt and he's almost having a boner when she walks into the living room. I'm telling you, as cheesy as I've been in the last couple of weeks? It's nothing compared to Rick freaking Grimes. Straight people are weird, man. But I had to try to compete with him at least a little bit, after all these years."  
Paul laughed, throwing his head back in the process and exposing his delicious neck to Daryl's hungry eyes. The redneck could not help but look at the expanse of skin revealed to his sharp eyes and he swallowed loudly, repressing the need to plunge his face in the younger man's collarbone and kiss the soft skin there.

"Well, turns out we're both pretty fucked" finally said Daryl, not looking at all disturbed by the fact and crossing his arms against his torso.

Paul nodded, his smirk never lessening.

"Yeah, it looks like it. Yet, I'm glad we found each other. Even if I freaked out at fist, I have to admit."  
"Humm. Me too."

They fell silent for a couple of seconds to look at each other almost sheepishly. Daryl felt like he was 15 all over again, crushing on the good looking guy next door but too shy to make a move.

"I went to the bar, you know?" eventually said Paul, his cheeks reddening slightly but holding Daryl's gaze. "To see you again."

Daryl frowned.

"You did? I didn't see you."  
"Yeah, you weren't there. Your colleague was there… But I didn't feel like leaving a message, you know? We had seen each other, what, twice? I thought I was the only one with the schoolboy crush."

This time, the older man snorted.

"You definitely weren't."  
"Why Mr Dixon" slurred Paul, his baby blue eyes beaming with joy, "You've been thinking about your knife in shiny armor?"  
"Don't make fun of me" grumbled the redneck, still smiling. "You don't get to look that pretty and not end up with perverts thinking about you days and nights afterwards."  
"Oh then it's my fault now?" asked Paul, trying to hold his smile back. "Damn, if I had known…"

They chuckled together and Paul shook his head, his hands resting on his knees and eyes on Daryl.

"I didn't know if you were flirting, at the bar" finally admitted Daryl shyly. "I'm not… good. With these kind of things. And when you asked me if I wanted the girl's number… I just panicked."  
"I was kinda jealous" replied Paul on the same hushed tone. "I thought you had your eyes on one of them, and after looming on your arms and muscled chest and pretty face when you came to the ER…" he shrugged, amused. "Well, I was a bit jealous. Too damn shy to make a move, because I'm stupid like that, yet internally jealous."

Daryl chuckled, bowing his head to look at his feet.

"Well, I've been told multiple times that I don't really fit the gay stereotype. Yet, I kinda feel like I do, you know?"  
"You should see my ex. Blond, tall, a freaking doctor, and thinks he's got a magical dick that allows him not to pay any attention to his boyfriend's own junk" replied the nurse, cracking up at the end of his sentence.  
"Idiot" snorted Daryl, his tone too soft to be really insulting and visibly holding his own laughter back.  
"That I am" confirmed Paul. "Is that a deal breaker?"  
"Humm. Jury's still out."

Paul bit the inside of his lips, looking at the man in front of him more intensely. He was gorgeous, but unlike the first time he'd seen him, he started noticing a few things that he had missed. Starting with the slightly grey tone of his eyes, right beside the sharp blue. How he tended to bite his thumb nail when he was nervous -which had happened exactly four times since they had started talking-, how he smiled almost shyly and most of all how adorable he was. Paul was a shy person by nature, but in situations like his job or with close friends he was warming up pretty quickly. And Daryl made him comfortable in a way he only ever felt with people he knew very well, and it was slowly warming his insides in the most wonderful way.

"I feel like I'm 15 all over again" finally whispered Paul, looking up at the other man with the most genuine expression and trying to pour his entire heart in the look he gave Daryl.  
The redneck nodded "Me too."

Better with actions than words, Daryl reached out to the younger man and took his hand, entwining their fingers together. Both of the men shivered at the touch, their gaze never breaking, warm hands linked on the soft cover of the bed.

"I've never done this" blurted Daryl in a whisper.  
"Done what?"  
"Relationships. I might not be good at it."

Paul smiled.

"I have a tendency to overreact things. I work crazy hours, and I live with a roommate which can be a deal breaker especially when said roommate is pretty invested in my sex life. I take long ass showers, my hair is ruining my life but I love it too much this way to cut it. Also, it takes forever to dry. And I forget my hairband most of the time, so I can't eat burgers properly. I talk a little bit too much when I'm nervous, but I'm pretty sure you guessed that already. I love cheese, sushis, and junk food. I firmly believe that Captain America is gay and in love with Bucky Barnes, because no one would face seventeen nations for a simple friend. I'm grumpy in the morning, and I know it makes no sense because I'm a nurse and I should be used to get up early but yeah, I really never got used to it. Should I go on?"

Daryl's only reply was a warm laugh slipping past his pursed lips, showing off his teeth and two adorable dimples on each side of his mouth. Paul wanted to kiss them, before finding his way to the other man's mouth.

"I love your hair" simply said Daryl, looking at Paul from between his strands of hair.  
"You won't say that once it starts creeping its way inside your mouth when we kiss."  
"Hum. Should we try, then?"  
"What, eating my hair?"  
"Kissing, dumbass."

Paul felt himself flush.

"I don't know, do you think we should? I feel like I don't know you enough. I feel like I've just told you my deepest secrets, Daryl Dixon" he replied, trying to sound smug when he was actually freaking out about the idea of ruining everything. What if Daryl realized after the kiss that he didn't like it? That he wasn't that attracted to him, but only to the idea of them teasing each other without purpose?  
"What do you want to know about me, then?" simply replied the redneck.

Shrugging, the younger man bit the inside of his cheek.

"I don't know. Anything that comes to your mind. Anything worth telling."

Daryl snorted at the words.

"Well. I sleep barely naked, I only keep a pair of boxer briefs because it's cold in my room, sometimes. My body's a furnace all the damn time, and I've heard from previous exes that it's just horrible to sleep next to me during summer. I've got tattoos, a lot of them. I like microwaving stuff instead of cooking most of the time, and I love working on my bike on my days off although I didn't have really much time to do it lately. I'm way too emotionally invested in my friend's lives because I never had a real family before them, and I'd do anything for Carl. Literally everything. And this includes leaving a one night stand unsatisfied because he's having troubles sleeping and Rick cannot calm him down."

The last sentence felt like a dare, a dare for Paul to say anything about Daryl's decisions when it came to his brother's son. But it only added to the shivers inside Paul's belly, with the realization that the redneck would do literally anything for his family.

"Do you still think it's worth a try?" breathed Daryl, eyes landing on Paul's lips.

The younger man swallowed loudly, his gaze mirroring Daryl's when he looked down at the other man's tempting mouth.

"Maybe we should, you know, try physical practice" he offered "we gotta know if everything feels… right."  
"Yeah, that might be a good idea" replied Daryl, his face closer than before.

Paul repressed a shiver when Daryl warm breath caressed his bottom lip. All he wanted to do was to open his mouth, and plunge against Daryl's lips with passion. God, he wanted this beautiful man to ruin him.

"What are you waiting for?" teased the redneck, closing the distance between them so that their nose almost touched, their breath mingling. "I thought you were the curious one."  
"Oh shut up."

His low growl was swallowed by Daryl's mouth when their lips finally met. Paul closed his eyes as soon as he felt the older man's mouth touch his, and let himself feel completely for once in his life. At first, the kiss was tender and almost shy; like the two men. But soon enough Paul let out a strangled moan and opened his mouth, allowing Daryl to slip his tongue inside. When Daryl's tongue first grazed his own, Paul felt his entire body shiver and he raised his right hand almost immediately, finding the other man's hair to ruffle it between his fingers and get a firm grip on the brown strands. The movement tore a groan ouf of Daryl and he twisted his head slightly, changing the angle of the kiss and allowing them to flush their entire body together. The position was still a little bit odd, especially since they were still sitting on the edge of the bed, but it was perfect.

Downstairs, Tracy Chapman's "Talking about a Revolution" was echoing in the living room, and both men could faintly hear it over the sound of their ragged breath and hammering hearts. Paul almost wanted to smile in the kiss, but he was too deeply evolved with Daryl's marvelous tongue in his mouth to really focus on anything else.

Eventually, ouf to breath, the two lovers broke the kiss and parted with regret. Paul pushed his forehead against Daryl's, kissing the corner of his mouth and the tip of his nose before chuckling. He hadn't felt this good in a long, very long time.

"I've got another thing that I wanted to confess" whispered Daryl, his hair sticking in every place from the movement of Paul's hands and his voice soft.  
"Yes?"  
"The first time I saw you in the ER, when you came to stitch me up? I wondered if I could straight away ask you to marry me."

Paul's laugh coupled with Carl's downstairs tore an amused chuckle out of Daryl. Looking at the younger man in front of him, he felt his heart swell in his usually too tight chest. Yes, there was definitely no place on earth where he'd rather be at this moment.


End file.
